Amyloid As A Depot For The Formulation Of Long-Acting Drugs

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 04 Feb 2008 - 17:00 PDT

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Amyloids are highly organized protein aggregates that are associated with both neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease and benign functions such as skin pigmentation.  Amyloids self-polymerize by recruiting their soluble protein counterpart and remain stable against harsh physical, chemical and biochemical conditions. 

These extraordinary properties make amyloids attractive for applications in nanotechnology.  This week in the open-access online journal PLoS Biology, Samir Maji, Jean Rivier, and Roland Riek suggest the use of amyloids in the formulation of long-acting drugs, which are active over extended periods of days and weeks.

Long-acting drugs have been designed to increase patient comfort, convenience, dosage accuracy and assurance of patient compliance for drugs that have a low oral bioavailability.

It is their rationale that amyloids have the properties required of a long-acting drug because they are stable depots that guarantee a controlled release of the active peptide drug from the amyloid termini.

This concept is tested with a family of short- and long-acting analogs of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and it is shown that amyloids thereof can act as a source for the sustained release of biologically active peptides.

Amyloid as a depot for the formulation of long-acting drugs
Maji SK, Schubert D, Rivier C, Lee S, Rivier JE, et al.
PLoS Biol 6(2): e17. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060017
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