Kansas State University Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects the proper secretion of anions and water.
Humans succumb primarily to their lung disease however other organ systems are usually involved.
Most treatments current available treat the symptoms rather than the defect itself. Peptide based channel replacement therapy is a new CF treatment modality that addresses aspects of the proposed primary defect. By introducing small channel forming peptides to airway epithelium a new anion conductance pathway can be established. This talk will focus primarily on the design, synthesis and testing of our best drug candidate. The challenge was to design a peptide that maintained its associative properties in the membrane while minimizes solution aggregation.