Trojan Horse effect

The Trojan Horse effect is a term used in scientific literature, referring to substances that act as carriers for other compounds, facilitating their transport.

Definition and examples

The effect generally refers to substance that facilitate the diffusion of other compounds. An example of this concept is observed with microplastics which act as carriers of organic compounds to new sites in the environment via sorption and desorption.[1]

Medicine

It is also utilized in the field of medicine, for example to allow for the administration of medicine across the blood–brain barrier via lipid nanoparticles.[2] The Trojan Horse effect is utilized by some antibiotics. By having the active compound bound to a mimic compound of molecules which are desirable to the bacteria.[3]

References

1. Zhang, Ming; Xu, Liheng (4 March 2022). "Transport of micro- and nanoplastics in the environment: Trojan-Horse effect for organic contaminants". Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. 52 (5): 810–846. Bibcode:2022CREST..52..810Z. doi:10.1080/10643389.2020.1845531. S2CID 228865980.
2. Pardridge, William M. (May 2023). "Brain gene therapy with Trojan horse lipid nanoparticles". Trends in Molecular Medicine. 29 (5): 343–353. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2023.02.004. PMC 10005896. PMID 36907687.
3. Travin, Dmitrii Y.; Severinov, Konstantin; Dubiley, Svetlana (2021). "Natural Trojan horse inhibitors of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases". RSC Chemical Biology. 2 (2): 468–485. doi:10.1039/d0cb00208a. PMC 8323819. PMID 34382000.