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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Nanobiotechnology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1450694

Evaluating the Impact of Cell-Penetrating Motif Position on the Cellular Uptake of Magnetite Nanoparticles

Provisionally accepted

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been employed to enhance the cellular uptake and intracellular delivery of various nanocarriers. Among them, nanoparticles (NPs) have been used as suitable vehicles for delivering different bioactive molecules in the treatment of a diverse range of diseases. Given the pivotal role of the conjugation method of CPPs, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the position of a cell-penetrating motif (LFVCR) on the biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and endosomal escape of magnetite NPs. The designed peptide's physicochemical properties suggest they are well-suited for efficient cell penetration with minimal cytotoxicity. The resulting designed nanoconjugates were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that motif position significantly impacts the cellular uptake and endosomal escape of the designed nanobioconjugates. Key findings suggest that motif exposure enhances endocytosis-mediated cell internalization and improves endosomal escape efficiency. These results were compared with nanobioconjugates displaying previously reported CPPs. The selected nanobioconjugate demonstrated superior performance in endosomal escape and comparable cell uptake to the reference nanobioconjugates. These results, along with the nanobioconjugate's physicochemical characteristics and high biocompatibility, position the nanocarrier as a suitable candidate for delivering diverse bioactive molecules.

    Keywords: Cell-Penetrating Peptides, Energy-dependent cellular uptake, Clathrin-mediated endocytosis, Magnetite Nanoparticles, Cell-penetrating motif

    Received: 18 Jun 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Salgado, Cifuentes-Delgado, Orozco, Muñoz-Camargo, Reyes, Quezada and Cruz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Valentina Quezada, University of Los Andes, Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
    Juan C Cruz, University of Los Andes, Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.