The structure and configuration changes of multifunctional peptide vectors enhance gene delivery efficiency.

We designed a series of peptide vectors that contain functional fragments with the goal of enhancing cellular internalization and gene transfection efficiency. The functional fragments included a cell-penetrating peptide (R), a cationic amphiphilic α-helical peptide [(LLKK)-H or (LLHH)], a stearyl moiety, and cysteine residues. Vectors were also synthesized with D-type amino acids to improve their proteolytic stability.