Goswami Dibakar, Vitorino Hector Aguilar, Machini M Teresa, Espósito Breno P
Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Lineu Prestes 748, 05508-000, São Paulo, Brazil.
Bio-Organic Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, India.
Biopolymers. 2015 Nov;104(6):712-9. doi: 10.1002/bip.22672.
There has been a growing interest in the use of micelles with nanofiber geometry as nanocarriers for hydrophobic drugs. Here we show that the conjugate of penetratin, a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) with blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, and deferasirox (DFX), a hydrophobic iron chelator, self-assembles to form micelles at a very low concentration (∼15 mg/L). The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined, and the micelles were used for solubilizing curcumin, a hydrophobic anti-neurodegenerative drug, for successful delivery across RBE4 cells, a BBB model. Transmission Electron Microscope images of the curcumin-loaded micelles confirmed the formation of nanofibers. These results indicate the potential of CPP-drug conjugates for use as nanocarriers.
