Polyethylene glycol-grafted poly- l-lysine as polymeric gene carrier

• Published in: Journal of controlled release Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 39 - 48
• Main Authors: Choi, Young Hun, Liu, Feng, Kim, Jin-Seok, Choi, Young Kweon, Jong Sang Park, Kim, Sung Wan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.06.1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cell Survival; Cytotoxicity; Drug Carriers; Gene delivery; General pharmacology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Medical sciences; Pharmaceutical technology. Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plasmids; Poly- l-lysine; Polyethylene glycol; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Polylysine - chemistry; Transfection; Transfection - methods; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Gene delivery; Cytotoxicity; Transfection; Poly- l-lysine; Polyethylene glycol; Complexation; Pharmaceutical technology; DNA; Dosage form; Drug carrier; Lysine copolymer; Gene expression; Chemical synthesis; In vitro; Tumor cell
• ISSN: 0168-3659; 1873-4995
• DOI: 10.1016/S0168-3659(97)00174-0

A new series of gene carriers, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted poly- l-lysine (PLL, mol. wt.=25 000) with three different PEG-grafted ratios (5, 10 and 25 mole%, which means 5, 10 and 25% of ϵ-amino group of PLL was modified by PEG), was synthesized. These new gene carriers, named comb-shaped PEG- g-PLL copolymer, showed a 5- to 30-fold increase in transfection efficiency compared to PLL alone on a human carcinoma cell line. It is likely that Hep G2 cells were transfected by plasmid DNA/PEG- g-PLL complexes through an endocytosis mechanism due to the fact that chloroquine increased transfection efficiency. Although Lipofectin™, a cationic lipid formulation, showed slightly higher transfection efficiency than PEG- g-PLL in Hep G2 cells, our designed PEG- g-PLL demonstrated lower cytotoxicity, early gene expression and maintenance of gene expression for up to 96 h.