ENGINEERING COMPOUNDS TARGETED TO VASCULAR ZIP CODES

The blood vessels in different tissues carry specific molecular markers. Various disease processes, such as cancer, inflammation or atherosclerosis, express their own molecular markers on the vasculature. These tissue- and disease-specific molecules create a “zip code” system of vascular addresses. The vascular addresses for tissues and disease processes reside in the inner lining of the blood vessels, the endothelium, and are thus readily accessible from the blood stream. The screening of phage-displayed peptide libraries in vivo has been a particularly effective way of identifying vascular zip codes. Targeting a drug to these addresses can enhance the efficacy of the drug while reducing its side effects. The greatest potential of the vascular targeting technology may be in constructing smart nanodevices.