Properties and characteristics of peptide drugs

Peptides, which can be said to exist widely in biological systems, are signal molecules, transport molecules and digestive molecules. As a signal molecule, polypeptides control biological functions of organisms, such as cell division, mating, chemotaxis, pain, growth and immunity. Polypeptide synthesis has become one of the most powerful tools in biochemical, pharmacological, immunological and biophysical research. As a transport molecule, polypeptides can promote ions to pass through cell membranes. Tao, as a digestive molecule, peptides play an important role in the nutrient absorption of cells and intact organisms. In addition, polypeptides can also be used as protective agents, such as antibiotics with excellent antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Now, polypeptide is an important commercial entity, which has been used in different fields of treatment, such as diabetes, allergy, anti-infection, obesity, diagnosis, cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Because polypeptide drugs mainly come from endogenous polypeptide or other natural polypeptide, they usually have clear structure and clear mechanism of action. Many properties are often between small molecular chemical drugs and macromolecular protein/antibody drugs. For example, compared with small molecular chemical drugs, the half-life is usually very short, unstable and easy in vivo. Rapid degradation, unstable preparation, low temperature preservation, high cost of molecular chemicals (especially long-chain polypeptides), etc. Compared with macromolecular proteins, polypeptides have better stability, less dosage, higher unit activity and lower cost, and their chemical synthesis technology is mature, easy to separate from impurities or by-products, and high purity. .