Peptide-Decorated Dendrimers and Their Bioapplications

Peptide-decorated dendrimers (PDDs) are a class of spherical, regular, branched polymers that are modified by peptides covalently attached to their surface. PDDs have been used as protein mimetics, novel biomaterials, and in a wide range of biomedical applications. Since their design and development in the late eighties, poly-l-lysine has been a preferred core structure for PDDs. However, numerous recent innovations in polymer synthesis and ligation chemistry have re-energized the field and led to the emergence of well-defined peptide dendrimers with more diverse core structures and functions. This Minireview highlights the development of PDDs driven by significantly improved ligation chemistry incorporating structurally well-defined peptides and the emerging use of PDDs in imaging and drug development. Decking out dendrimers: Peptide-decorated dendrimers (PDDs), a class of spherical polymers with peptides covalently attached to their surface, have found application in imaging and drug development. In addition to selected bioapplications, this Minireview also summarizes the development of PDD synthetic routes that employ diverse conjugation chemistry. Green ball=peptide; blue structure=dendrimer scaffold.