Peptides and proteins are widely used to treat a range of medical conditions; however, they often have to be injected and their effects are short-lived. These shortcomings of the native structure can be addressed by molecular engineering, but this is a complex undertaking. A molecular engineering technology initially applied to insulin — and which has now been successfully applied to several biopharmaceuticals — entails the derivatization of peptides and proteins with fatty acids. Various protraction mechanisms are enabled by the specific characteristics and positions of the attached fatty acid. Furthermore, the technology can ensure a long half-life following oral administration of peptide drugs, can alter the distribution of peptides and may hold potential for tissue targeting. Due to the inherent safety and well-defined chemical nature of the fatty acids, this technology provides a versatile approach to peptide and protein drug discovery.

肽和蛋白质被广泛用于治疗一系列疾病；然而，它们通常需要注射，而且效果是短暂的。天然结构的这些缺点可以通过分子工程来解决，但这是一项复杂的工作。最初应用于胰岛素的分子工程技术——现在已成功应用于多种生物制药——需要用脂肪酸对肽和蛋白质进行衍生化。所附脂肪酸的具体特征和位置可实现各种延长机制。此外，该技术可以确保口服多肽药物后具有较长的半衰期，可以改变多肽的分布，并可能具有组织靶向的潜力。