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Abstract
Therapeutic peptides offer important cancer treatment approaches. Designed to inhibit oncogenes and other oncoproteins, early therapeutic peptides applications were hampered by pharmacokinetic properties now addressed through tumor targeting strategies. Active targeting with environmentally responsive biopolymers or macromolecules enhances therapeutics accumulation at tumor sites; passive targeting with macromolecules, or liposomes, exploits angiogenesis and poor lymphatic drainage to preferentially accumulate therapeutics within tumors. Genetically engineered, thermally-responsive, elastin-like polypeptides use both strategies and cell-penetrating peptides to further intratumoral cell uptake. This review describes the development and application of cell-penetrating peptide–elastin-like polypeptide therapeutics for the thermally targeted delivery of therapeutic peptides.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank JA Fordham and S Porter for critical reading and editorial assistance of the manuscript.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation (IIP-1321375), National Science Foundation (CBET-0931041), and iCorp program of National Science Foundation (IIP-1264214). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.