The rational design of materials with cell‐selective membrane activity is an effective strategy for the development of targeted molecular imaging and therapy. Here we report a new class of cationic multidomain peptides (MDPs) that can undergo enzyme‐mediated molecular transformation followed by supramolecular assembly to form nanofibers in which cationic clusters are presented on a rigid β‐sheet backbone. This structural transformation, which is induced by cells overexpressing the specific enzymes, led to a shift in the membrane perturbation potential of the MDPs, and consequently enhanced cell uptake and drug delivery efficacy. We envision the directed self‐assembly based on modularly designed MDPs as a highly promising approach to generate dynamic supramolecular nanomaterials with emerging membrane activity for a range of disease targeted molecular imaging and therapy applications.
- Award ID(s):
- 1824614
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10203201
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- RSC Advances
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 49
- ISSN:
- 2046-2069
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 29469 to 29474
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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