Leveraging the therapeutic, biological, and self-assembling potential of peptides for the treatment of viral infections

Maya K. Monroe, Han Wang, Caleb F. Anderson, Hongpeng Jia, Charles Flexner, Honggang Cui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Peptides and peptide-based materials have an increasing role in the treatment of viral infections through their use as active pharmaceutical ingredients, targeting moieties, excipients, carriers, or structural components in drug delivery systems. The discovery of peptide-based therapeutic compounds, coupled with the development of new stabilization and formulation strategies, has led to a resurgence of antiviral peptide therapeutics over the past two decades. The ability of peptides to bind cell receptors and to facilitate membrane penetration and subsequent intracellular trafficking enables their use in various antiviral systems for improved targeting efficiency and treatment efficacy. Importantly, the self-assembly of peptides into well-defined nanostructures provides a vast library of discrete constructs and supramolecular biomaterials for systemic and local delivery of antiviral agents. We review here the recent progress in exploiting the therapeutic, biological, and self-assembling potential of peptides, peptide conjugates, and their supramolecular assemblies in treating human viral infections, with an emphasis on the treatment strategies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1028-1049
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Controlled Release
Volume348
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Keywords

  • Antiviral
  • Biomaterials
  • HIV
  • Nanomaterials
  • Peptides
  • Self-assembly

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmaceutical Science

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