Nano-scale peptide-based drugs
Drugs based on proteins or peptides have evolved over the past years into very effective pharmaceuticals targeting disease. Due to the highly diverse structure and broad biological activity of peptides and proteins, these P/P drugs can take the shape of hormones, neurotransmitters, structural proteins or even metabolic modulators with a significant role as both therapeutics and biomarkers. The EU-funded ‘Nanoscale functionalities for targeted drug delivery of biopharmaceutics’ (Nanobiopharmaceutics) project concentrated on producing, testing and implementing numerous nanoparticle-based carrier systems for P/P drugs. This so-called 'NanoToolbox', combined with peptides, was tested in vitro and in vivo in terms of its efficiency to be delivered orally or nasally, or to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). Partners generated systems for achieving targeted delivery of P/P drugs and tested their toxicity, immunogenicity and degradation properties. Additionally, they developed polymer P/P drugs and studied their interaction with cells. The Nanobiopharmaceutics project successfully established innovative multidisciplinary approaches for designing and synthesising nano-scale and micro-scale molecular functionalities for the targeted delivery of therapeutic peptides and proteins. Systems generated constituted a breakthrough in the field and are expected to have significant clinical applications for the treatment of various diseases.
