{
  "id": 3351246,
  "title": "Lipid anchor engineering controls cell-penetrating arginine-rich peptide presentation for efficient siEGFR liposomal delivery to triple-negative breast cancer cells",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/lipid-anchor-engineering-controls-cell-penetrating-arginine-rich",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.20.745705v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Scientists have developed a new method to deliver siRNA, a type of molecule that can silence specific genes, to cancer cells using a specially designed liposome. This innovative approach involves engineering the lipid structure of the liposome to include a peptide known as nona-arginine (R9-Chol) that helps the liposome bind to and enter cancer cells. This R9-Chol peptide is attached to the cholesterol molecule on the liposome surface, which enhances cell penetration.\n\nThe research team optimized the liposome formulation by varying the lipid composition, cholesterol content, and PEG chain length. They achieved stable, monodisperse nanoscale lipoplexes with a positive surface charge by carefully adjusting the {zeta}-potential and dynamic light scattering of the solution. This positive charge allows the liposome to attract negatively charged cellular components, facilitating efficient uptake by the target cells.\n\nThe optimized formulation was tested in vitro using MDA-MB-231 cells, which are a common model for triple-negative breast cancer cells. By conjugating the siRNA against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene to the R9-Chol-functionalized liposomes, the researchers were able to achieve significantly reduced expression of the EGFR gene in these cancer cells. This was confirmed through various analytical techniques such as fluorescence polarization, circular dichroism, and agarose gel electrophoresis, which demonstrated that the R9-Chol peptide effectively protected the siRNA from degradation by ribonucleases.\n\nThe morphological changes observed in the liposomal structures, from discrete vesicles to organized multilamellar lipoplexes, were consistent with the electrostatic forces driving the self-assembly process. These findings provide a mechanistic understanding of how the peptide-assisted lipid:siRNA assembly occurs, paving the way for the development of more effective delivery systems for siRNA and other gene-silencing therapies.",
  "summary": "Understanding the physicochemical factors that govern siRNA nanocarrier assembly is essential for the rational design of effective delivery systems. By optimizing various lipid compositions, cholesterol content and PEG length we created a peptide-functionalized cationic liposomal platform made of DOPE/TAP lipids with cholesterol-anchored nona-arginine (R9-Chol) for siRNA complexation,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}