The potential of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as an alternative to conventional therapies is well recognized. Insights into the biological and biophysical properties of AMPs are thus key to understanding their mode of action. In this study, the mechanisms adopted by two AMPs in disrupting the Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacterial envelope were explored. BP100 is a short cecropin A-melittin hybrid peptide known to inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. pepR, on the other hand, is a novel AMP derived from the dengue virus capsid protein. Both BP100 and pepR were found to inhibit the growth of E. coli at micromolar concentrations. Zeta potential measurements of E. coli incubated with increasing peptide concentrations allowed for the establishment of a correlation between the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of each AMP and membrane surface charge neutralization. While a neutralization-mediated killing mechanism adopted by either AMP is not necessarily implied, the hypothesis that surface neutralization occurs close to MIC values was confirmed. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was then employed to visualize the structural effect of the interaction of each AMP with the E. coli cell envelope. At their MICs, BP100 and pepR progressively destroyed the bacterial envelope, with extensive damage already occurring 2 h after peptide addition to the bacteria. A similar effect was observed for each AMP in the concentration-dependent studies. At peptide concentrations below MIC values, only minor disruptions of the bacterial surface occurred.

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We report the use of arginine-glycine-aspartic (Arg-Gly-Asp, RGD) peptide-modified dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles (Au DENPs) for highly efficient and specific gene delivery to stem cells. In this study, generation 5 poly(amidoamine) dendrimers modified with RGD via a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacer and with PEG monomethyl ether were used as templates to entrap gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The native and the RGD-modified PEGylated dendrimers and the respective well characterized Au DENPs were used as vectors to transfect human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) with plasmid DNA (pDNA) carrying both the enhanced green fluorescent protein and the luciferase (pEGFPLuc) reporter genes, as well as pDNA encoding the human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (hBMP-2) gene. We show that all vectors are capable of transfecting the hMSCs with both pDNAs. Gene transfection using pEGFPLuc was demonstrated by quantitative Luc activity assay and qualitative evaluation by fluorescence microscopy. For the transfection with hBMP-2, the gene delivery efficiency was evaluated by monitoring the hBMP-2 concentration and the level of osteogenic differentiation of the hMSCs via alkaline phosphatase activity, osteocalcin secretion, calcium deposition, and von Kossa staining assays. Our results reveal that the stem cell gene delivery efficiency is largely dependent on the composition and the surface functionality of the dendrimer-based vectors. The coexistence of RGD and AuNPs rendered the designed dendrimeric vector with specific stem cell binding ability likely via binding of integrin receptor on the cell surface and improved three-dimensional conformation of dendrimers, which is beneficial for highly efficient and specific stem cell gene delivery applications.

A unique matrix metalloproteinase 2-targeted photosensitizer delivery platform was developed in this study for tumor-targeting imaging and photodynamic therapy. The model photosensitizer therapeutic agent chlorin e6 (Ce6) was first covalently conjugated with matrix metalloproteinase 2-cleavable polypeptide and then modified with polyethylene glycol via a redox-responsive cleavable disulfide linker. The resultant matrix metalloproteinase 2-cleavable polypeptide modified PEGylated Ce6 (PEG-SS-Ce6-MMP2) nanoparticles, which formed via self-assembly, were observed to be monodisperse and significantly stable in aqueous solution. In addition, owing to their cellular redox-responsiveness at the cleavable disulfide linker, the PEG-SS-Ce6-MMP2 nanoparticles were able to release Ce6 rapidly. Despite displaying enhanced intracellular internalization, the synthesized PEG-SS-Ce6-MMP2 nanoparticles did not compromise their phototoxic effects toward A549 cancer cells when compared with free Ce6 and PEGylated Ce6 nanoparticles. In vivo experiments further revealed that, in contrast with the free Ce6 or with the PEGylated Ce6 nanoparticles, the PEG-SS-Ce6-MMP2 nanoparticles showed a remarkable increase in tumor-targeting ability and a significantly improved photodynamic therapeutic efficiency in A549 tumor-bearing mice. These results suggest that the PEG-SS-Ce6-MMP2 nanoparticles hold great potential for tumor-targeting imaging and photodynamic therapy.

Development of multifunctional nanoscale drug-delivery systems for targeted cancer therapy still remains a great challenge. Here, we report the synthesis of cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide-conjugated generation 5 (G5) poly(amidoamine) dendrimers for anticancer drug encapsulation and targeted therapy of cancer cells overexpressing αvβ3 integrins. In this study, amine-terminated G5 dendrimers were used as a platform to be sequentially modified with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FI) via a thiourea linkage and RGD peptide via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer, followed by acetylation of the remaining dendrimer terminal amines. The developed multifunctional dendrimer platform (G5.NHAc-FI-PEG-RGD) was then used to encapsulate an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). We show that approximately six DOX molecules are able to be encapsulated within each dendrimer platform. The formed complexes are water-soluble, stable, and able to release DOX in a sustained manner. One- and two-dimensional NMR techniques were applied to investigate the interaction between dendrimers and DOX, and the impact of the environmental pH on the release rate of DOX from the dendrimer/DOX complexes was also explored. Furthermore, cell biological studies demonstrate that the encapsulation of DOX within the G5.NHAc-FI-PEG-RGD dendrimers does not compromise the anticancer activity of DOX and that the therapeutic efficacy of the dendrimer/DOX complexes is solely related to the encapsulated DOX drug. Importantly, thanks to the role played by RGD-mediated targeting, the developed dendrimer/drug complexes are able to specifically target αvβ3 integrin-overexpressing cancer cells and display specific therapeutic efficacy to the target cells. The developed RGD peptide-targeted multifunctional dendrimers may thus be used as a versatile platform for targeted therapy of different types of αvβ3 integrin-overexpressing cancer cells.