1 research outputs found
Solution Conformation of Polymer Brushes Determines Their Interactions with DNA and Transfection Efficiency
Polymer brush-functionalized
nanomaterials offer interesting features
for the design of gene delivery vectors as their physicochemical and
structural properties can be designed independently of the chemistry,
size and shape of the nanomaterial core. However, little is known
of the parameters regulating the adsorption and infiltration of DNA
molecules at the surface of positively charged polymer brushes, despite
the importance of such processes for gene delivery. Here we investigate
the role of the molecular environment (e.g., pH, type of buffer, concentration)
on the interactions between plasmid DNA and positively charged polyÂ(dimethylaminoethyl
methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) brushes using a combination of light scattering,
electrophoretic light scattering, in situ ellipsometry, and surface
plasmon resonance. We show that the conformation of swollen PDMAEMA
brushes is modulated by the surrounding buffer and that this impacts
strongly on the ability of such brushes and nanomaterials based on
these coatings to complex DNA molecules. In turn, the levels of transfection
efficiency measured correlate with changes in brush conformation and
DNA binding. Therefore, this work demonstrates the importance of molecular
design of polymer brushes to control DNA complexation and release
in order to optimize the performance of polymer brush-functionalized
nanomaterials for gene delivery applications