Stimuli-responsive peptide nanocarriers for tumor-specific CRISPR/Cas9 delivery and precision genome editing.

CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) delivery remains a critical challenge due to its large size, instability, and off-target effects. Here, we report a stimuli-responsive cationic amphiphilic peptide, (CR3)3C, designed for cancer-targeted delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 RNP. The peptide integrates three functional domains: (1) a naphthyl-diphenylalanine (Nap-FF) motif enabling self-assembly into stable nanoparticles via aromatic interactions, (2) a matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP7)-cleavable linker (GPLGLA) for tumor microenvironment-specific activation, and (3) a redox-responsive cationic domain ((CRRR)3-C) for electrostatic RNP binding and glutathione (GSH)-triggered intracellular release. The (CR3)3C/RNP nanocomplexes (108.8 nm diameter, ζ = +10.89 mV) demonstrate exceptional stability and cellular uptake efficiency. Mechanistic studies reveal caveolae-mediated endocytosis and lipid raft-associated pathways, proton sponge effect-driven endosomal escape, and nuclear localization facilitated by Cas9's nuclear localization signal. In HeLa-EGFP cells, (CR3)3C/RNP shows 33.8 % gene editing efficiency at 100 nM RNP with >90 % cell viability. This work establishes a programmable, non-viral platform that synergizes enzymatic and redox responsiveness for tumor-targeted genome editing, addressing critical barriers in CRISPR therapeutics.