Dr. Daniel Appella
National Institutes of Health – Washington D.C.
Friday, October 30, 2026
12:00 Noon
Meyerhoff Chemistry BuildingRoom 120
Host: Dr. Kathie Seley-Radtke
“Thyclotides that deliver peptides into cells”
Thyclotides are a new class of oligomeric molecules that contain chiral tetrahydrofurans in a peptidic backbone and polar sidechains. When thyclotides are covalently linked to peptides that are unable to enter cells on their own, the thyclotide+peptide conjugates have significantly improved cellular uptake. Extensive studies with a peptide that inhibits the MDM2 protein show that the thyclotide+peptide conjugate has good anticancer activity in cells and an in vivo mouse model. The chemical development of thyclotides, which started with basic studies on peptide nucleic acids, will be presented along with the future prospects of using thyclotides to improve bioavailability for other types of molecular cargo.