Review of a viral peptide nanosystem for intracellular delivery

The internalization of bioactive molecules is one of the most critical problems to overcome in theranostics. In order to improve pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic proper- ties, synthetic transporters are widely investigated. A new nanotechnological transporter, gH625, is based on a viral peptide sequence derived from the herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein H (gH) that has proved to be a useful delivery vehicle, due to its intrinsic properties of inducing membrane perturbation. The peptide functionalization with several kinds of nanoparticles like quantum dots, dendrimers, and liposomes could be of particular interest in biomedical applica- tions to improve drug release within cells, to increase site-specific action, and eventually to reduce related cytotoxicity. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. (DOI: 10.1117/1.JNP.7.071599)