New Biocompatible Nanohydrogels of Predefined Sizes for Complexing Nucleic Acids

The advent of protein expression using m-RNA applied lately for treating the COVID pandemic, and gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 technology for introducing DNA sequences at a specific site in the genome, are milestones for the urgent need of developing new nucleic acid delivery systems with improved...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPharmaceutics Vol. 15; no. 2; p. 332
Main Authors Eswaran, Lakshmanan, Kazimirsky, Gila, Byk, Gerardo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 19.01.2023
MDPI
Subjects
Biocompatibility
Biomedical materials
cationic nanohydrogels
Copolymers
Dosage and administration
Drug delivery systems
Drugs
Hydrogels
Materials
Nanomedicine
Nanoparticles
non-viral gene delivery
Nucleic acids
Polyethylene glycol
polymerization
Polymers
Quantum dots
self-assembly
Tissue engineering
Toxicity
Vehicles
Israel
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
non-viral gene delivery
polymerization
self-assembly
cationic nanohydrogels
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The advent of protein expression using m-RNA applied lately for treating the COVID pandemic, and gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 technology for introducing DNA sequences at a specific site in the genome, are milestones for the urgent need of developing new nucleic acid delivery systems with improved delivery properties especially for in vivo applications. We have designed, synthesized, and characterized novel cross-linked monodispersed nanohydrogels (NHG's) with well-defined sizes ranging between 50-400 nm. The synthesis exploits the formation of self-assemblies generated upon heating a thermo-responsive mixture of monomers. Self-assemblies are formed and polymerized at high temperatures resulting in NHGs with sizes that are predetermined by the sizes of the intermediate self-assemblies. The obtained NHGs were chemically reduced to lead particles with highly positive zeta potential and low cell toxicity. The NHGs form complexes with DNA, and at optimal charge ratio the size of the complexes is concomitant with the size of the NHG's. Thus, the DNA is fully embedded inside the NHGs. The new NHGs and their DNA complexes are devoid of cell toxicity which together with their tunned sizes, make them potential tools for gene delivery and foreign protein expression.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1999-4923
1999-4923
DOI:10.3390/pharmaceutics15020332