A new peptide-based nanotube treatment sneaks chemo into drug-resistant cancer cells, providing a unique workaround to one of oncology’s toughest hurdles.
CiQUS researchers have developed a novel molecular strategy that allows a chemotherapy drug to enter the nucleus of tumor cells and exert its therapeutic impact, even in drug-resistant cancers. Their findings were published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
The study focused on doxorubicin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug. Prolonged treatment with this drug frequently results in the formation of resistant cells, which causes substantial difficulties in clinical use that the new approach successfully addresses, while maintaining the drug’s antitumor efficacy.
The technique is based on a simple but powerful concept: cyclic peptides (small amino acid rings) can stack and self-assemble into hollow cylindrical structures (nanotubes) on the surface of cancer cell membranes.
The molecular-scale drug delivery, created by a team led by Juan R. Granja, binds doxorubicin to these peptides and transports it to the cell nucleus via a mechanism that bypasses common drug resistance pathways, such as efflux pumps. This enables the drug to circumvent the cellular resistance mechanisms that typically render it ineffective.
Cancer cell membranes contain more negatively charged lipids than healthy cells. The cyclic peptides used in this study have a high affinity for these anionic surfaces, facilitating their interaction with tumor cells. Consequently, the peptide-drug conjugates enter resistant cells and go to the nucleus, where doxorubicin intercalates with DNA to produce its cytotoxic impact.
Critically, the efficacy of this delivery method depends on the structure of the cyclic peptide, particularly the inclusion of hydrophobic alkyl chains of specific lengths. Experimental research indicated that the chemical structure of the cyclic peptide is critical for the creation of stable nanotubes, which improves their capacity to penetrate malignant cells.
Drug resistance remains one of the most significant challenges in cancer therapy. Many tumors evolve systems to actively evade drugs, significantly reducing the efficacy of existing treatments. In this situation, cyclic peptides serve as multifunctional delivery vehicles, both enhancing uptake and shielding the drug from premature expulsion from tumor cells, allowing doxorubicin to enter cells that would otherwise reject it.
This technique, which combines selectivity, effective transport, and controlled drug release, opens the door to novel combination chemotherapies in which peptide-based nanotechnology might be a potent ally against cancer. Laboratory studies showed that versions of the peptide with ten carbon alkyl tails were the most effective, both in penetrating drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells and delivering doxorubicin to the nucleus.
The scientists anticipate that this method could spur the development of novel treatment techniques for difficult-to-treat tumors.
Journal Reference:
Vilela-Picos, M. et.al. (2025). Self-Assembling Cyclic Peptide Nanotubes for the Delivery of Doxorubicin into Drug-Resistant Cancer Cells. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c05264.
News
Study Delivers Cancer Drugs Directly to the Tumor Nucleus
A new peptide-based nanotube treatment sneaks chemo into drug-resistant cancer cells, providing a unique workaround to one of oncology’s toughest hurdles. CiQUS researchers have developed a novel molecular strategy that allows a chemotherapy drug to [...]
Scientists Begin $14.2 Million Project To Decode the Body’s “Hidden Sixth Sense”
An NIH-supported initiative seeks to unravel how the nervous system tracks and regulates the body’s internal organs. How does your brain recognize when it’s time to take a breath, when your blood pressure has [...]
Scientists Discover a New Form of Ice That Shouldn’t Exist
Researchers at the European XFEL and DESY are investigating unusual forms of ice that can exist at room temperature when subjected to extreme pressure. Ice comes in many forms, even when made of nothing but water [...]
Nobel-winning, tiny ‘sponge crystals’ with an astonishing amount of inner space
The 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi on Oct. 8, 2025, for the development of metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, which are tunable crystal structures with extremely [...]
Harnessing Green-Synthesized Nanoparticles for Water Purification
A new review reveals how plant- and microbe-derived nanoparticles can power next-gen water disinfection, delivering cleaner, safer water without the environmental cost of traditional treatments. A recent review published in Nanomaterials highlights the potential of green-synthesized nanomaterials (GSNMs) in [...]
Brainstem damage found to be behind long-lasting effects of severe Covid-19
Damage to the brainstem - the brain's 'control center' - is behind long-lasting physical and psychiatric effects of severe Covid-19 infection, a study suggests. Using ultra-high-resolution scanners that can see the living brain in [...]
CT scan changes over one year predict outcomes in fibrotic lung disease
Researchers at National Jewish Health have shown that subtle increases in lung scarring, detected by an artificial intelligence-based tool on CT scans taken one year apart, are associated with disease progression and survival in [...]
AI Spots Hidden Signs of Disease Before Symptoms Appear
Researchers suggest that examining the inner workings of cells more closely could help physicians detect diseases earlier and more accurately match patients with effective therapies. Researchers at McGill University have created an artificial intelligence tool capable of uncovering [...]
Breakthrough Blood Test Detects Head and Neck Cancer up to 10 Years Before Symptoms
Mass General Brigham’s HPV-DeepSeek test enables much earlier cancer detection through a blood sample, creating a new opportunity for screening HPV-related head and neck cancers. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for about 70% of [...]
Study of 86 chikungunya outbreaks reveals unpredictability in size and severity
The symptoms come on quickly—acute fever, followed by debilitating joint pain that can last for months. Though rarely fatal, the chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne illness, can be particularly severe for high-risk individuals, including newborns and older [...]
Tiny Fat Messengers May Link Obesity to Alzheimer’s Plaque Buildup
Summary: A groundbreaking study reveals how obesity may drive Alzheimer’s disease through tiny messengers called extracellular vesicles released from fat tissue. These vesicles carry lipids that alter how quickly amyloid-β plaques form, a hallmark of [...]
Ozone exposure weakens lung function and reshapes the oral microbiome
Scientists reveal that short-term ozone inhalation doesn’t just harm the lungs; it reshapes the microbes in your mouth, with men facing the greatest risks. Ozone is a toxic environmental pollutant with wide-ranging effects on [...]
New study reveals molecular basis of Long COVID brain fog
Even though many years have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of infection with SARS-CoV-2 are not completely understood. This is especially true for Long COVID, a chronic condition that [...]
Scientists make huge Parkinson’s breakthrough as they discover ‘protein trigger’
Scientists have, for the first time, directly visualised the protein clusters in the brain believed to trigger Parkinson's disease, bringing them one step closer to potential treatments. Parkinson's is a progressive incurable neurological disorder [...]
Alpha amino acids’ stability may explain their role as early life’s protein building blocks
A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on one of life's greatest mysteries: why biology is based on a very specific set [...]
3D bioprinting advances enable creation of artificial blood vessels with layered structures
To explore possible treatments for various diseases, either animal models or human cell cultures are usually used first; however, animal models do not always mimic human diseases well, and cultures are far removed [...]
