Table 1.

Peptide–nanoparticle conjugates for efficient drug delivery

Application	Peptide		Nanoparticle (NP)		Therapeutic agents	In vitro study		In vivo study		Refs.
	Name	Target	Type	Complex size (nm)		Model	Efficacy	Model	Efficacy
Nuclear-target drug delivery	TAT	Target importin alpha and beta for intranuclear translocalization	Mesoporous Silica	25, 50	Doxorubicin	MTT Assay for DOX-Carrier Cytotoxicity	Hela cell viability: ~ 30%	N/A	N/A	[41]
	Adenoviral NLS	Interact with nuclear pore complex for nuclear uptake	BSA-coated AuNP	25	Preliminary study (N/A)	LDH colorimetric toxicity assay for Carrier Cytotoxicity	HepG2 cell viability: < 5% decrease compared to control	N/A	N/A	[42]
	Adenoviral RME	For receptor mediated endocytosis into the cell
	Adenoviral NLS	Targets nuclear pore complex for NP entrance into nucleus	AuNP	13	SiRNA	MCF-7 (Breast), HeLa (Cervix), HepG2 (Liver) cancer cells	TK1 mRNA expression decreased 10%	MCF7 tumor-bearing mice	Inhibited tumor growth. ~ 2.5× lower weight than control	[43]
Transdermal drug delivery	TAT	Assists with membrane disruption and cellular uptake	AuNP	200	pDNA	Nude mouse skin	Past epidermis and within dermal layer	N/A	N/A	[44]
						Transfection of B16F10 Cells	1.71 * 107 RLU/mg (significantly higher)
	TD	Targets the Na+/K+-ATPase beta-subunit of the stratum corneum for enhanced skin permeability	Liposome	105	Vemurafenib	Franz diffusion cell system	~ 60 µg Vem quantity in receptor after 24 h. (significantly higher)	BALB/c nude mice	Significant antitumor efficacy	[46]
	TAT	Arginine groups in TAT bind stratum corneum and assist NP movement into epidermal layers	Nano lipid crystal NPs	180	Celecoxib	Hairless rat skin permeation using Franz diffusion cells	Threefold higher conc. in stratum corneum. Highest epidermal concentration (90 µg/g of skin). Max depth 120 µm	N/A	N/A	[45]
Blood brain barrier drug delivery	G23	Targets gangliosides GM1 and GT1b for the mediated transport of NPs across the BBB	Polymersome	165	Preliminary study (N/A)	hCMEC/D3 cells on transwell filters	~ 30% transcytotic capacity (4 times increase over nontargeted)	BALB/c nude mice	Significant accumulation in brain parenchyma. Also, accumulation in cortex, striatum, midbrain, pons and cerebellum	[48]
	LNP	Cell penetrating peptide for cellular uptake	DGL-PEG	90	pDNA	BCEC cells in well plates	Papp achieved 92.43 * 10−6 cm/s and ~ 275 pmol total transport (both significantly higher)	Nude orthotopic glioma-bearing mice	Increased median survival time and statistically significant survival prolongation	[49]