Synthetic Mimics of Cell Penetrating Peptides for Pharmaceutical Delivery

A team of innovative polymer scientists lead by Dr. Gregory N. Tew at University of Massachusetts Amherst has designed and developed a new class of synthetic polymers, called protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs), for
applications in pharmaceutical delivery and disease diagnosis. These novel polymers are synthetic mimics of protein transduction domains (PTDs), and are designed to mimic and improve the biological activity of PTDs. They can be readily synthesized and transport across lipid bilayers with efficiencies significantly better than their natural peptide analogs. Their rich chemical diversity and structural tunability allow for highly efficient delivery of many
different cargos, such as DNA, siRNA and proteins, into a variety of cells.