Beijing Team's Cell-Penetrating Peptide Coating Raised Tumor Suppression to 81% for Light-Activated Curcumin Nanoparticles in Mice
Researchers at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences coated curcumin-loaded ZIF-90 nanoparticles with a PEG-linked cell-penetrating peptide, CPP2, which increased uptake in colorectal cancer cells and accumulation in tumors. In mice, tumor suppression was 25.5% with curcumin alone, 48.5% with uncoated particles plus laser light, and 80.6% with peptide-coated particles plus light, the Drug Delivery paper reports. The work is preclinical.