CONTEXT

The transport of substances through the plasma membrane and their access to intracellular compartments is a major problem in many therapies (anticancer, antiviral, for example). Peptide vectors referred to as cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have emerged as promising tools for the intracellular delivery of a large set of molecules (drugs, peptides, siRNA). However, the stability of these peptide compounds towards proteases involves a risk of rapid destruction of the conjugate vector-active molecule in vivo. As vectors, number of compounds are already available, nevertheless some points need to be resolved, including the bioavailability, toxicity, addressing specific intracellular compartments and feasibility at industrial level.