Acta Chimica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 84 ›› Issue (6): 916-932.DOI: 10.6023/A26010030 Previous Articles     Next Articles

Article

固相“一步法”合成基于肿瘤靶向肽/细胞穿透肽和SN38的多肽-药物偶联物(PDCs)

房长波a,b,, 许孜a,, 朱舒芽a, 孟铭b, 张彬c, 齐昀坤b,*(), 杜姗姗a,*()   

  1. a 青岛科技大学 高性能有机光学聚合物与先进制造技术全国重点实验室 青岛 266042
    b 青岛大学 药学院 青岛 266071
    c 青岛心血管病医院 青岛 266034
  • 投稿日期:2026-01-27 发布日期:2026-04-22
  • 作者简介:
    同第一作者
  • 基金资助:
    山东省泰山学者青年专家项目(tsqn202312168); 山东省自然科学基金(ZR2024YQ061); 国家自然科学基金(22177058)

Solid-phase “one-step” Synthesis of Peptide-Drug Conjugates (PDCs) based on Tumor-targeting Peptide/Cell-penetrating Peptide and SN38

Changbo Fanga,b, Zi Xua, Shuya Zhua, Ming Mengb, Bin Zhangc, Yunkun Qib,*(), Shanshan Dua,*()   

  1. a State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Polymer and Manufacturing Technology, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
    b School of Pharmacy, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
    c Qingdao Cardiovascular Disease Hospital, Qingdao 266034, China
  • Received:2026-01-27 Published:2026-04-22
  • Contact: E-mail: qiyunkun@qdu.edu.cn; shanshandu@qust.edu.cn
  • About author:
    These authors contributed equally to this work
  • Supported by:
    Taishan Scholar Project of Shandong Province(tsqn202312168); Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2024YQ061); National Natural Science Foundation of China(22177058)

Tumors, particularly drug-resistant malignant tumors, pose a severe threat to human health, underscoring the importance of developing novel antitumor therapeutics. 7-Ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38), a representative derivative of camptothecin (CPT), is a highly potent chemotherapeutic agent that exhibits broad-spectrum antitumor activity. Nevertheless, the clinical application of SN38 has been significantly limited by its poor water solubility, short half-life, and low tumor selectivity. Peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) represent an emerging class of targeted antitumor therapeutics, offering distinct advantages including strong tumor tissue penetration, low immunogenicity and ease of synthesis and structural optimization. Conjugating SN38 with peptides could markedly improve its water solubility, tumor targeting capability, and antitumor potential. Conventional synthesis of peptide-SN38 based conjugates typically relies on a “two-step” strategy, involving solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) to prepare the peptide segment, followed by solution-phase construction of peptide-SN38 conjugates. This approach is cumbersome, often leading to poor yields and a time-consuming workflow. In this study, we developed a streamlined solid-phase “one-step” synthesis strategy, wherein both peptide assembly and SN38 conjugation were performed sequentially on the solid support. The target peptide-SN38 conjugates could be readily obtained through direct peptide cleavage and purification. Utilizing different tumor-targeting peptides (LHRH and Octreotide) and cell-penetrating peptide (CPP12), three distinct series of peptide-SN38 conjugates were designed and efficiently synthesized. We systematically investigated the effects of different conjugation linkers and cleavage conditions on the synthetic efficiency, establishing the straightforward solid-phase “one-step” synthesis strategy. Ultimately, three conjugate series, LHRH-SN38, octreotide-SN38, and CPP12-SN38 were efficiently synthesized, yielding eight structurally well-defined peptide-SN38 conjugates. In vitro cytotoxicity assays indicated that both LHRH-SN38 and octreotide-SN38 conjugates exhibit potent antitumor activity, significantly enhancing SN38's selectivity toward tumor cells while reducing its toxicity to normal cells. Solubility and cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that all three series of peptide-SN38 conjugates substantially improved the aqueous solubility of SN38 and significantly enhanced SN38 uptake by tumor cells. Furthermore, wound-healing assays indicated that conjugation of SN38 to three kinds of peptides notably enhanced its inhibitory effect on tumor cell migration. By employing the “one-step” solid-phase synthesis strategy, this study systematically investigated the synthetic approaches for peptide-SN38 conjugates derived from diverse peptide architectures, including linear peptide (LHRH), disulfide-bridged cyclic peptide (Octreotide), and amide-bridged cyclic peptide (CPP12). This study not only provides the robust and efficient synthetic strategy for PDCs based on SN38 and other CPT-derived chemotherapeutics, but also offers valuable insights for the development of novel antitumor therapeutics.

Key words: CPP12, LHRH, octreotide, peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs), peptide synthesis, SN38, solid-phase "one-step" synthesis strategy, tumor-targeting peptide