Preparation and characterization of dipeptide-based nanoparticles for the study of their cellular interactions

Thanks to their unique chemical, physical and biological properties, ease of synthesis and functionality, and inherent biocompatibility, peptide-based nanomaterials are extremely remarkable, and self-assembled nanomaterials are being intensively investigated for various biomedical applications. They are biodegradable, nontoxic, and have the ability to efficiently transport many drugs to cancer cells. Within the scope of this study, N-(fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)-L-lysine (Fmoc-Lys) nanomaterials (NMs) were synthesized and characterized. It was then continued with cell toxicity and cell internalization tests. The results showed that Fmoc-Lys-siRNA could inhibit Mcl-1 expression and BCL-2 expression, thus leading to apoptosis of the cancerous cell after transport to cancer cells. Therefore, this study provides tools for future cancer treatment as it prepared a new anti-cancer agent (Fmoc-Lys-siRNA-Mcl1). Exosomes, extracellular vesicles, are structures that are 30 to 150 nm in diameter and have a negative charge under physiological conditions. Although it has been suggested that some proteins and biological compounds bind to exosomes in aqueous environments to form protein corona layers, understanding of the factors contributing to protein corona formation in biofluids remains limited. For this purpose, an effort was made to investigate the effects of protein corona on the nanomaterial toxicity of the exosome. Interaction studies of NMs with exosomes were also performed. Additionally, cell viability experiments were performed using exosomes obtained from model cancer cells. Additionally, the colloidal stability of Fmoc-Lys NMs was also investigated. In line with the results obtained, it was observed that Fmoc-Lys-Exo structures formed biocorona and reduced toxicity. Keywords: Dipeptide Nanomaterials, Exosome, Fmoc-Lys, siRNA, Cancer, Cytotoxicity