Cell-penetrating peptides – mechanism of transduction and synthesis – short review

Potential antimicrobial agents may be effective if they are delivered efficiently to their site of action. In many cases, lack of permeability through the cell membrane is the main problem. One of the possible solutions could be a novel intracellular delivery system involving cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), which may improve the efficiency of many new biopharmaceuticals. Among other things, CPPs are capable of transporting molecules that vary in structure and size such as: small molecules, RNA and DNA nucleotides, nanoparticles, peptides, proteins and even liposomes. CPP-cargo conjugates are internalised by endocytosis and other mechanisms of intracellular delivery not involving any receptors and not causing any significant cell membrane damage. Due to their relatively small size, CPPs are relatively easy to synthesize using the solid phase-based methodology.