NBD Integrated and Vitamin B6-Driven Charge-Reversible Peptide-Based Nanocarriers for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery

Suman Nayak; Anushree Lye; Subhabrata Guha; Nanjundan Raghul; Adele Stewart; Gaurav Das; Biswanath Maity; Priyadip Das

doi:10.1002/smll.202513436

Back

NBD Integrated and Vitamin B6-Driven Charge-Reversible Peptide-Based Nanocarriers for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery

Journal article

Peer reviewed

NBD Integrated and Vitamin B6-Driven Charge-Reversible Peptide-Based Nanocarriers for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery

Suman Nayak, Anushree Lye, Subhabrata Guha, Nanjundan Raghul, Adele Stewart, Gaurav Das, Biswanath Maity and Priyadip Das

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), e13436

02/07/2026

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202513436

PMID: 41653423

View Online

Abstract

Peptide-based self-assembled nanostructures offer great promise for targeted drug delivery due to their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability, and structural tunability. However, their limited optical properties and lack of functional sites for selective targeting restrict their use in theranostics. Here, we report a fluorophore-integrated, pH-responsive dipeptide nanocarrier engineered from phenylalanine-tryptophan (F-W) conjugated with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD) as a fluorescent probe and vitamin B6 (VitB6) as a pH-sensitive unit. The resulting vitamin B6-modified nanoparticles (PS-Dox) exhibited charge reversal from negative to positive under mildly acidic conditions (pH 5.0), promoting doxorubicin (Dox) release, endosomal escape, and nuclear localization. PS-Dox demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity, DNA damage, and apoptosis induction in multiple cancer cell lines, while showing negligible toxicity toward non-malignant cardiomyocytes (AC-16 and H9C2). In vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetic studies revealed increased tumour accumulation and superior tumour growth inhibition compared with Dox. Importantly, PS-mediated encapsulation effectively mitigated Dox-associated cardiotoxicity, a major limitation of conventional chemotherapy. Overall, this study establishes a vitamin B6-mediated, charge-reversible peptide nanocarrier as a biocompatible and efficient platform for targeted anticancer drug delivery, combining tumour-specific therapeutic efficacy with improved cardiac safety.

Materials Science

Physical Sciences

Physics

Technology

Chemistry

Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

Chemistry, Physical

Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Physics, Applied

Physics, Condensed Matter

Science & Technology

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Details

Title: Subtitle: NBD Integrated and Vitamin B6-Driven Charge-Reversible Peptide-Based Nanocarriers for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery
Creators: Suman Nayak - SRM Institute of Science and Technology
Anushree Lye - Bose Institute
Subhabrata Guha - Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute
Nanjundan Raghul - SRM Institute of Science and Technology
Adele Stewart - University of Iowa
Gaurav Das - Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute
Biswanath Maity - Bose Institute
Priyadip Das - SRM Institute of Science and Technology
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), e13436
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202513436
PMID: 41653423
NLM abbreviation: Small
ISSN: 1613-6810
eISSN: 1613-6829
Publisher: Wiley
Number of pages: 19
Grant note: ICMR-EMDR/SG/14/2023-0061 / Indian Council of Medical Research for financial support DST/INSPIRE/04/2020/001299 / DST-INSPIRE Faculty Project CRG/2023/001681 / Anusandhan National Research Foundation, Core Research Grant
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 02/07/2026
Academic Unit: Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neuroscience and Pharmacology
Record Identifier: 9985139466002771

Metrics

1 Record Views