(690a) Invited Talk: Peptide-Functionalized Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutics

The goal of our studies is to develop selective drug delivery systems by incorporating in polymersomes (polymeric vesicles covered with polyethylene oxide) or stealth liposomes (liposomes covered with polyethylene glycol) biomimetic peptide-amphiphiles that recognize and bind, in a specific manner, the targets of choice. Examples will be discussed of different nanoparticle designs that target the alpha(5)beta(1) integrin through the use of a biomimetic peptide, PR_b, that was designed in our group. Our in vitro and in vivo data will demonstrate that PR_b-functionalized nanovectors can efficiently bind and internalize to cancer cells that over-express the integrin receptor, and release their encapsulated payload (plasmid DNA, siRNA or chemotherapy agents) intracellularly, thus conferring higher levels of cytotoxicity to cancer cells compared to non-functionalized nanoparticles or nanoparticles functionalized with other peptides commonly used in the literature.