Transfection vehicle

In addition to covalently modified ROMP polymers, noncovalent poly-plexes of cationic ROMP polymers with DNA have been used as transfection agents [218, 219]. Breitenkamp and Emrick showed that PCOE functionalized with cationic polylysine grafts complexed with a plasmid that expresses GFP. This polyplex transfected COS-1 and HeLa cells at comparable or superior levels to commercially available jetPEI (linear polyethyleneimine), SuperFect (dendrimer), and Lipofectamine 2000 (liposomal carrier) transfection vehicles [220]. The ROMP-derived carrier was nontoxic to cells, while all three commercially available reagents led to significant levels of cell death. 

Gene therapy Contrary to antisense therapy, the ability to induce production of specific proteins identified by proteomics has similar potential for future clinical therapeutics. In vitro application is widespread, and researchers continue to develop new liposome [10,49], synthetic [33,34,50-52] and natural polymer [25,27], and peptide [28] vectors in pursuit of more efficient and compatible formulations. While human in vivo application of nonviral gene therapy remains limited, the wealth of research focused on developing suitable vectors cannot sufficiently emphasize the potential for successful application-specific transfection vehicles. 

Polymeric oxazolines have also been used as vehicles for controlled drug release ° ° and DNA transfection, as polymeric micelles, which serve as carriers for drug transport (e.g., paclitaxel), and as formulation additives for controlled-release of insecticides. ... 

Abstract Carbohydrates have been investigated and developed as delivery vehicles for shuttling nucleic acids into cells. In this review, we present the state of the art in carbohydrate-based polymeric vehicles for nucleic acid delivery, with the focus on the recent successes in preclinical models, both in vitro and in vivo. Polymeric scaffolds based on the natural polysaccharides chitosan, hyaluronan, pullulan, dextran, and schizophyllan each have unique properties and potential for modification, and these results are discussed with the focus on facile synthetic routes and favorable performance in biological systems. Many of these carbohydrates have been used to develop alternative types of biomaterials for nucleic acid delivery to typical polyplexes, and these novel materials are discussed. Also presented are polymeric vehicles that incorporate copolymerized carbohydrates into polymer backbones based on polyethylenimine and polylysine and their effect on transfection and biocompatibility. Unique scaffolds, such as clusters and polymers based on cyclodextrin (CD), are also discussed, with the focus on recent successes in vivo and in the clinic. These results are presented with the emphasis on the role of carbohydrate and charge on transfection. Use of carbohydrates as molecular recognition ligands for cell-type specific dehvery is also briefly... 

Consequently, San Juan and coworkers chemically cross-linked DEAE-pullulan and synthesized a cationic, 3D pullulan matrix that could be loaded with pDNA (pSEAP) and function as a delivery vehicle (Fig. 6) [82], In vitro transfection and... 

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