Figure 3.
Strategies for temperature-mediated peptide targeting. The application of local and regional hyperthermia provides an opportunity to change the carrier behavior in the tumor region. (A) Temperature-directed assembly from single peptides into multivalent nanoparticles. The multivalency may improve the avidity for cell surface targets that promote cellular internalization [26]. (B) For peptides that transition from soluble to aggregated states under hyperthermia, the sustained application of heat increases the accumulation of the carrier in the tumor vasculature. Upon return to normal temperatures, the dissolution of peptides produces a high local concentration that drives extravascular accumulation of carrier, a ‘thermal-pump’ [27].