# Exploring Peptide Conjugates as Trojan Horse Systems for Drug Design and Discovery

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2020 · $413,897

## Abstract

   
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Microcin C7 (McC) is a potent natural product antimicrobial produced by enterobacteria. McC enters the target cell using a "Trojan horse" strategy, in which the active portion of the antibiotic is coupled to a peptide carrier that faciliates import into target cell through active transporters. We have characterized several biosynthetic clusters for that produce the same antibiotic component but with different peptide attachments. Presumably, changes in the peptide allow for import through different transport systems that are specific to different bacterial species. Here we seek to: i. install variations in the peptide carrer allowing the molecule to be taken up by diverse bacteria. ii. re-design the peptide carrier so that
it can be more effectively imported into susceptible organisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9823840
- **Project number:** 5R01AI117210-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** Satish K Nair
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $413,897
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-12-01 → 2020-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9823840

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9823840, Exploring Peptide Conjugates as Trojan Horse Systems for Drug Design and Discovery (5R01AI117210-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9823840. Licensed CC0.

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