1 research outputs found
Tuning the Potency of Farnesol-Modified Polyethylenimine with Polyanionic Trans-Booster to Enhance DNA Delivery
Low molecular weight polyethylenimine
(PEI) based lipopolymers
become an attractive strategy to construct nonviral therapeutic carriers
with promising transfection efficiency and minimal toxicity. Herein,
this paper presents the design and synthesis of novel farnesol (Far)
conjugated PEI, namely PEI1.2k-SA-Far7. The polymers had quick DNA
complexation, effective DNA unpacking (dissociation), and cellular
uptake abilities when complexed with plasmid DNA. However, they were
unable to provide robust transfection in culture, indicating inability
of Far grafting to improve the transfection efficacy significantly.
To overcome this limitation, the commercially available polyanionic
Trans-Booster additive, which is capable of displaying electrostatic
interaction with PEI1.2k-SA-Far7, has been used to enhance the uptake
of pDNA polyplexes and transgene expression. pDNA condensation was
successfully achieved in the presence of the Trans-Booster with more
stable polyplexes, and in vitro transfection efficacy of the polyplexes
was improved to be comparable to that obtained with an established
reference reagent. The PEI1.2k-SA-Far7/pDNA/Trans-Booster ternary
complex exhibited good compatibility with cells and minimal hemolysis
activity. This work demonstrates the exemplary potency of using additives
in polyplexes and the potential of resultant ternary complexes for
effective pDNA delivery