The scientist team described the mechanism of passive drug delivery to cells.

Prague Working with colleagues in the Czech Republic and Germany, the Pavel Jungwirth team at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Czech Academy of Sciences did not reveal the mechanism of passive peptide transport to mediocre cells. Direct delivery of drugs to cells is one of the goals of the pharmaceutical industry. The institute informed me in today's press release. The results were published in the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The ability of short peptides to penetrate cells was first discovered in HIV studies and is being used to transfer drugs to cells. So far it has been through the transport pouch, the so-called vesicle, which surrounds the material transported separately from the cell membrane. In pouches, healing molecules must be released again, which, according to scientists, can be a technical complication for the effective delivery of drugs.

Peptides can be delivered to cells without passive energy assistance. Using a fluorescence microscope, an electron microscope and computer molecular simulation, the team of NewYoon revealed a mechanism based on membrane fusion induced by the delivered peptides themselves. But according to the chiefs, the actual use of the discovery is inevitable.

Jung Woo Tan has long collaborated with the team on the molecular processes of cell membranes to open up new possibilities to control this process and to develop a more efficient way to potentially transport drug molecules to the site of action.

Jung Woo-tan has published over 280 works in international journals such as Science, Nature Chemistry and PNAS. He is also an editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry published by the American Chemical Society. He also popularizes science in Respekt, Czech Radio and Czech Television.