Amphipathic peptides and drug delivery

The discovery of cell-penetrating peptides as gene delivery systems and the interest in the mechanism by which these vectors cross the cell membrane have generated a large number of studies. Among the parameters involved in the translocation process, controversy has arisen about the role of the amphipathicity of the carriers in the interaction and reorganization of the cell membrane. In this review we have summarized the vectors with primary or secondary amphipathicily related to secondary structure. Some of the insights into the relationship between the aggregation state of the peptide at the concentrations used,for internalization studies and its interaction with the cell membrane result from our contribution to the field with a new family of amphipathic proline-rich peptides. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.