Efficient Gene Delivery Using Anionic Liposome-Complexed Polyplexes (LPDII)

Synthetic gene transfer vectors based on polyplexes complexed to anionic liposomes (LPDII vectors) were characterized for their transfection efficiency in cultured mammalian cells. The effects of polycation to DNA ratio, lipid to DNA ratio, choice of polycation and lipid composition were systematically evaluated in human oral carcinoma KB cells, using a luciferase reporter gene. For LPDII formulations containing poly-L-lysine and dioeoylphosphatidylethanolamine/cholesteryl hemisuccinate (DOPE/CHEMS) anionic liposomes, at a constant lipid to DNA ratio, an increase in the polycation/DNA (N/P) ratio resulted in an increase in transfection activity. Meanwhile, the optimal lipid to DNA ratio for efficient gene delivery was influenced by the N/P ratio used, and was increased at higher N/P ratios. For the DNA condensing agent, poly-L-lysine could be replaced by polyethylenimine (PEI) as the DNA condensing agent in the formulations. For the lipidic components, CHEMS could be replaced by other anioniclipids including oleic acid, dicetylphosphate and phosphatidylserine, but DOPE, a fusogenic helper lipid, could not be replaced by dioleolyphosphatidylcholine. LPDII formulation showed significantly less cytotoxicity compared to the commonly used cationic lipsomes or PEI mediated transfection and several cell lines were transfected with high efficiency. LPDII vectors avoid the use of toxic cationic lipids and may have potential application in gene therapy.     

Nuclear localization signal peptide enhances transfection efficiency and decreases cytotoxicity of poly(agmatine/N,N′-cystamine-bis-acrylamide)/pDNA complexes

At present, nonviral gene vectors develop rapidly, especially cationic polymers. A series of bioreducible poly(amide amine) (PAA) polymers containing guanidino groups have been synthesized by our research team. These novel polymer vectors demonstrated significantly higher transfection efficiency and lower cytotoxicity than polyethylenimine (PEI)—25kDa. However, compared with viral gene vectors, relatively low transfection efficiency, and high cytotoxicity are still critical problems confronting these polymers. In this study, poly(agmatine/N,N′-cystamine-bis-acrylamide) p(AGM-CBA) was selected as a model polymer, nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide PV7 (PKKKRKV) with good biocompatibility and nuclear localization effect was introduced to investigate its impact on transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. NLS peptide-mediated in vitro transfection was performed in NIH 3T3 cells by directly incorporating NLS peptide with the complexes of p(AGM-CBA)/pDNA. Meanwhile, the transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity of these complexes were evaluated. The results showed that the transfection efficiency could be increased by 5.7 times under the appropriate proportion, and the cytotoxicity brought by the polymer vector could be significantly reduced.     

Engineering a polymeric gene delivery vector based on poly(ethylenimine) and hyaluronic acid

In this work, the effects of primary amines, ligand targeting, and overall charge on the effectiveness of branched poly(ethylenimine)-hyaluronic acid conjugate (bPEI-HA) zwitterionic gene delivery vectors are investigated. To elucidate the relative importance of each of these parameters, we explored the zeta potential, cytotoxicity, and transfection efficiency for a variety of formulations of bPEI-HA. It was found that the length of the hyaluronic acid (HA) oligosaccharide had the most significant effect on cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency with human mesenchymal stem cells. Test groups of bPEI incorporating HA with a length of 10 saccharides had significantly higher transfection efficiency (14.6 ± 2.0%) and lower cytotoxicity than other formulations tested, with the cytotoxicity of the group containing the greatest mass of 10 saccharide showing similar results as the positive controls at the highest polymer concentration (100 μg/mL). Additionally, molar incorporation of HA, as opposed to the saccharide length and HA mass incorporation, had the greatest effect on zeta potential but a minor effect on both cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency. This work demonstrates the relative importance of each of these tunable design criteria when creating a zwitterionic polymeric gene delivery vector and provides useful specific information regarding the design of bPEI-HA gene delivery vectors.     

High transfection efficiency and low toxicity cationic lipids with aminoglycerol–diamine conjugate

The solid phase synthesis of a library of aminoglycerol–diamine conjugate-based transfection agents having urea linkage between diverse length of diamines and various lengths of hydrophobic tails is described. These compounds were characterized and structure–activity relationships were determined for DNA binding and transfection ability when formulated as cationic liposomes. Cationic lipids with short spacer length and short hydrophobic tails bound to DNA and delivered DNA into HEK293 cells more efficient than those with longer ones. Transfection efficiency of some of the cationic liposomes was superior to that of the commercial transfection agents, Effectene^TM_, DOTAP and DC-Chol. The lipids 6Ab and 6Bb did not require the helper lipid DOPE to produce high-efficiency transfection of human cells while displaying minimal cytotoxicity. This suggests that these newly described aminoglycerol-based lipids should be very promising in liposome-mediated gene delivery and illustrate the potential of solid phase synthesis method for non-viral vector discovery.     

Gene transfection into HeLa cells by vesicles containing cationic peptide lipid

Lipid vesicles are potentially useful as microcapsules for drug and/or gene delivery. We developed cationic lipid vesicles consisting mainly of sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) and cationic peptide lipid (CPL), and evaluated the CPL vesicles as gene transfection vectors. The optimum CPL concentration for gene transfection into HeLa cells was found to be 20 wt % of total lipid, and such CPL vesicles did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity. Co-culture of Poly-L-lysine and plasmids prior to making CPL vesicle-plasmid complexes was effective. Lipofection using LipofectAMINE was suppressed in 10% serum-supplemented medium. The transfection efficiency of 20 wt % CPL vesicles, however, was not affected by serum in the medium when plasmids were treated with poly-L-lysine.     

A rapid and inexpensive labeling method for microarray gene expression analysis

Background

Polyethyleneimine (PEI), a cationic polymer, is one of the successful and widely used vectors for non-viral gene transfection in vitro. However, its in vivo application was greatly limited due to its high cytotoxicity and short duration of gene expression. To improve its biocompatibility and transfection efficiency, PEI has been modified with PEG, folic acid, and chloroquine in order to improve biocompatibility and enhance targeting.

Results

Poly(ε-caprolactone)-Pluronic-Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCFC) was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization, and PCFC-g-PEI was obtained by Michael addition reaction with GMA-PCFC-GMA and polyethyleneimine (PEI, 25 kD). The prepared PCFC-g-PEI was characterized by ¹H-NMR, SEC-MALLS. Meanwhile, DNA condensation, DNase I protection, the particle size and zeta potential of PCFC-g-PEI/DNA complexes were also determined. According to the results of flow cytometry and MTT assay, the synthesized PCFC-g-PEI, with considerable transfection efficiency, had obviously lower cytotoxicity against 293 T and A549 cell lines compared with that of PEI 25 kD.

Conclusion

The cytotoxicity and in vitro transfection study indicated that PCFC-g-PEI copolymer prepared in this paper was a novel gene delivery system with lower cytotoxicity and considerable transfection efficiency compared with commercial PEI (25 kD).     

Homodimeric SV40 NLS peptide formed by disulfide bond as enhancer for gene delivery

Recently, cysteine residue incorporation increased liposome-mediated transfection compared to unmodified peptide. Therefore, we designed novel modified SV40 NLS peptides, homodimeric (NLS-CTHD, NLS-NTHD) and closed structure (cyclic NLS), simply using disulfide bond between cysteines to develop more efficient and safe non-viral gene delivery system. The simple mix of NLS-CTHD among these novel transfection enhancing peptides with DNA increased the gene transfer potency of cationic liposomes more efficiently with no additional cytotoxicity.     

Pyridinium cationic lipids in gene delivery: an in vitro and in vivo comparison of transfection efficiency versus a tetraalkylammonium congener

Cationic lipids provide a promising alternative to the use of viruses for delivering genes therapeutically. Among the several classes of lipidic vectors, those bearing a heterocyclic cationic head have shown important advantages, such as low cytotoxicity and improved efficiency across different cell lines. We recently reported a simple and efficient strategy for obtaining pyridinium cationic lipids, starting from pyrylium salts and primary amines. The present study is aimed to compare the cellular toxicity and transfection efficiency generated by the pyridinium polar head versus the tetramethylammonium one on several tumor cell lines and also in experimental animals, delivered via intratumor injections. Thus, the lead compound 1-(2,3-dioleoyloxypropyl)-2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium lipid (2Oc), coformulated with different helper lipids in various molar ratios, was tested against its ammonium congener DOTAP-a standard transfection reagent. The results revealed that when formulated with cholesterol at 1:1 molar ratio, the pyridinium lipid 2Oc was able to transfect several cancer cell lines with similar or better efficiency than its tetraalkylammonium congener DOTAP, while producing lower cytotoxicity. The NCI-H23 lung cancer cell line was found to be the most susceptible to be transfected. Therefore, we designed an in vivo assay based on this type of carcinoma in nude mice, which were injected intratumoral with 2Oc- and DOTAP-based lipoplexes. The red fluorescent protein reporter revealed that the pyridinium cationic lipid was superior to its tetraalkylammonium congener, transfecting the tissue on a higher area and with higher efficiency. These encouraging findings, together with the simple and efficient synthetic strategy, lay the foundation for further development of pyridinium lipids for gene therapy with improved transfection efficiency in vivo and even further reduced cytotoxicity.     

Nonionic Surfactant Vesicles Composed of Novel Spermine-Derivative Cationic Lipids as an Effective Gene Carrier In Vitro

In the present study, nonionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes) formulated with Span 20, cholesterol, and novel synthesized spermine-based cationic lipids with four hydrocarbon tails in a molar ratio of 2.5:2.5:1 were investigated as a gene carrier. The effects of the structure of the cationic lipids, such as differences in the acyl chain length (C14, C16, and C18) of the hydrophobic tails, as well as the weight ratio of niosomes to DNA on transfection efficiency and cell viability were evaluated in a human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa cells) using pDNA encoding green fluorescent protein (pEGFP-C2). The niosomes were characterized both in terms of morphology and of size and charge measurement. The formation of complexes between niosomes and DNA was verified with a gel retardation assay. The transfection efficiency of these cationic niosomes was in the following order: spermine-C18 > spermine-C16 > spermine-C14. The highest transfection efficiency was obtained for transfection with spermine-C18 niosomes at a weight ratio of 10. Additionally, no serum effect on transfection efficiency was observed. The results from a cytotoxicity and hemolytic study showed that the cationic niosomes were safe in vitro. In addition, the cationic niosomes showed good physical stability for at least 1 month at 4°C. Therefore, the cationic niosomes offer an excellent prospect as an alternative gene carrier.     

疏水修饰聚阳离子高分子SP-Chol 在COS-7 细胞中转染和毒性的研究

目的:研究以精胺为单体,以乙二醇二氯甲酸酯作为连接剂,以胆固醇氯甲酸酯作为疏水基团连接剂合成的疏水修饰聚阳离子高分子SP-Chol对非洲绿猴肾癌细胞COS-7的转染活性和细胞毒性的影响。方法:以荧光素酶质粒为报告基因,研究SP-Chol与DNA的复合物在COS-7细胞的转染活性,用MTT方法研究SP-Chol对COS-7细胞的毒性。结果:COS-7细胞实验显示,SP-Chol具有低于PEI 25kDa的细胞毒性,同时也具有高效输送DNA的能力。结论:SP-Chol是一种新型的高效、低毒,在基因治疗领域有潜在应用价值的非病毒基因输送载体。     

Rapid delivery of small interfering RNA by biosurfactant MEL-A-containing liposomes

The downregulation of gene expression by RNA interference holds great potential for genetic analysis and gene therapy. However, a more efficient delivery system for small interfering RNA (siRNA) into the target cells is required for wide fields such as cell biology, physiology, and clinical application. Non-viral vectors are stronger candidates than viral vectors because they are safer and easier to prepare. We have previously used a new method for gene transfection by combining cationic liposomes with the biosurfactant mannosylerythritol lipid-A (MEL-A). The novel MEL-A-containing cationic liposomes rapidly delivered DNA (plasmids and oligonucleotides) into the cytosol and nucleus through membrane fusion between liposomes and the plasma membrane, and consequently, enhanced the gene transfection efficiency. In this study, we determined the efficiency of MEL-A-containing cationic liposomes for siRNA delivery. We observed that exogenous and endogenous protein expression was suppressed by approximately 60% at 24 h after brief (30 min) incubation of target cells with MEL-A-containing cationic liposome/siRNA complexes. Confocal microscopic analysis showed that suppression of protein expression was caused by rapid siRNA delivery into the cytosol. We found that the MEL-A-containing cationic liposomes directly delivered siRNA into the cytoplasm by the membrane fusion in addition to endocytotic pathway whereas Lipofectamine™ RNAiMax delivered siRNA only by the endocytotic pathway. It seems that the ability to rapidly and directly deliver siRNA into the cytosol using MEL-A-containing cationic liposomes is able to reduce immune responses, cytotoxicity, and other side effects caused by viral vectors in clinical applications.     

Efficient gene transfection by bisguanylated diacetylene lipid formulations

We have previously shown that cationic cholesterol derivatives bearing guanidinium groups were efficient vectors for gene transfer. To further evaluate the potentiality of this novel class of cationic lipids, we undertook to study the transfection efficiency of guanidinium-based lipids with other hydrophobic moieties. Specifically, we synthesized a reagent where two guanidinium groups are linked to a diacetylene lipid which may provide the lipoplexes with favorable structural features. We report here that the cationic lipid bisguanidinium-diacetylene (BGDA) is highly efficient for in vitro gene transfection when formulated with dioleoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE). We also show that liposomes composed of BGDA, DOPE, and a neutral diacetylene colipid, hydroxyethylenediacetylene (HEDA), are efficient for transfection. Thus, diacetylene-based lipids provide a novel scaffold for gene transfection and will be particularly useful for gaining new insights into the structure-activity relationships of the lipid/DNA complexes as they offer a means to study the effects of polymerizable domains.     

Facilitation of gene transfection with well-defined degradable comb-shaped poly(glycidyl methacrylate) derivative vectors

Recently, we reported that ethanolamine (EA)-functionalized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) vectors (PGEAs) can produce good transfection efficiency, while exhibiting very low toxicity. Further improvement in degradability and transfection efficiency of the PGEA vectors will facilitate their application in gene therapy. Comb-shaped cationic copolymers have been of interest and importance as nonviral gene carriers. Herein, the degradable high-molecular-weight comb-shaped PGEA vectors (c-PGEAs) composed of the low-molecular-weight PGEA backbone and side chains were prepared by a combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring-opening reactions. The PGEA side chains were linked with the PGEA backbones via hydrolyzable ester bonds. Such comb-shaped c-PGEA vectors possessed the degradability, good pDNA condensation ability, low cytotoxicity, and good buffering capacity. More importantly, the comb-shaped c-PGEA vectors could enhance the gene expression levels. Moreover, the PGEA side chains of c-PGEA could also be copolymerized with some poly(poly(ethylene glycol)ethyl ether methacrylate) species to further improve the gene delivery system.     

Stabilized plasmid-lipid particles: factors influencing plasmid entrapment and transfection properties.

Previous work has shown that plasmid DNA can be encapsulated in small 'stabilized plasmid-lipid particles' (SPLP) composed of 1, 2-dioleyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE), the cationic lipid N, N-dioleyl-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (DODAC) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) conjugated ceramides (PEG-Cer), employing a detergent dialysis procedure. These SPLP have potential as vectors for in vivo gene therapy. This study is aimed at characterizing the influence of the cationic lipid and PEG-Cer species on SPLP formation and in vitro transfection properties. It is shown that the transfection potency of SPLP is sensitive to the cationic lipid species employed, the size of the PEG polymer incorporated in the PEG-ceramide and the length of the acyl chain contained in the ceramide anchor. With regard to the influence of cationic lipid, the transfection levels achieved were highest for SPLP containing N-[2, 3-(dioleyloxy)propyl]-N,N-dimethyl-N-cyanomethylammonium chloride (DODMA-AN) and lowest for SPLP containing 3-beta-[N-(N', N'-dimethylaminoethyl)carbamoyl]-cholesterol (DC-CHOL), according to the series DODMA-AN>N-[2,3-(dioleyloxy)propyl]-N,N, N-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTMA)>DODAC>N,N-distearyl-N, N-dimethylammonium chloride (DSDAC)>DC-CHOL. Incorporation of short (PEG(750)) PEG polymers in the PEG-ceramide components resulted in modest improvements in transfection levels over PEG(2000) and PEG(5000) polymers, however variation of the length of the acyl chain contained in the hydrophobic ceramide anchor from octanoyl (PEG-CerC(8)) to myristoyl (PEG-CerC(14)) to arachidoyl (PEG-CerC(20)) had the most dramatic effects. Transfection levels achieved for SPLP containing PEG-CerC(8) were substantially larger than observed for SPLP containing PEG-CerC(14) or PEG-CerC(20), consistent with a requirement for the PEG-ceramide to dissociate from the SPLP surface for maximum transfection potency. It is also shown that the ability of SPLP to be accumulated into cells is a dominant factor influencing transfection potency, and that the transfection potency of SPLP that are accumulated is at least equivalent to that of cationic lipid-plasmid DNA complexes.     

猪肾细胞脂质磁转染系统的构建与表征

磁性纳米基因载体是一种非病毒基因载体,经过功能性基团修饰后能够连接阳离子转染剂构建细胞转染系统。本文将磁转染技术结合常用的脂质体转染,形成了一种新型动物体细胞转染方法,即称脂质磁转染(Liposomal magnetofection,LMF)。这将为体细胞克隆培育转基因动物提供稳定遗传的细胞系。为构建脂质磁性纳米基因载体复合物系统,本研究利用一种磁性纳米基因载体通过分子自组装与脂质阳离子转染剂结合,用于携带外源基因转染动物体细胞。通过原子力显微镜(AFM)观测、ζ电位-粒度等分析表征手段,研究磁性纳米基因载体的形貌、粒径分布、负载及浓缩DNA的方式。结果表明,通过猪肾(PK)细胞的LMF实验,与脂质体(Lipofectamine2000)介导的转染比较,具有较高的转染率,更重要的是克服了脂质体转染瞬时表达的缺陷。MTT细胞毒性试验结果也显示该方法具有较低的细胞毒性。因此LMF是一种切实可行的高效低毒性的细胞转染方法。     

Molecular Forces for the Binding and Condensation of DNA Molecules

Atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate the binding between a double-stranded DNA and bilayers of cationic lipids and zwitterionic lipids in low ionic-strength solutions. The binding of a DNA molecule to freshly cleaved mica surface in solution has also been measured. The binding of DNA molecules to cationic lipid bilayers has a minimal strength of ∼45 pN. On zwitterionic lipid bilayers and mica surface, the minimal binding strength is approximately twice that value. The binding also has a dynamic nature, with only a certain percentage of recorded force curves containing the binding characteristics. Divalent Mg²⁺ ions enhance the binding by increasing that percentage without any effect on the binding strength. We have also observed a long-range attraction between DNA molecules and cationic lipid bilayers with a strength much larger than the minimum force and a range well over 50 nm, possibly related to the driving force responsible for the two-dimensional condensation of DNA.     

Novel carbamate-linked quaternary ammonium lipids containing unsaturated hydrophobic chains for gene delivery

In this paper, two novel carbamate-linked quaternary ammonium lipids (MU18: a lipid with a mono-ammonium head; GU18: a lipid with a Gemini-ammonium head) containing unsaturated hydrophobic chains were designed and synthesized. The chemical structures of the synthetic lipids were characterized by infrared spectrum, ESI-MS, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HPLC. For investigating the effect of unsaturation on gene delivery, the previous reported saturated cationic liposomes (MS18 and GS18) were used as comparison. Cationic liposomes were prepared by using these cationic lipids and neutral lipid DOPE at the molar ratio of 1:1. Particle sizes and zeta potentials of the cationic liposomes were studied to show that they were suitable for gene transfection. The binding abilities of the cationic liposomes were investigated by gel electrophoresis at various N/P ratios from 0.5/1 to 8/1. The results indicated that the binding ability of GU18 was much better than MU18 and the saturated cationic liposomes (MS18 and GS18). DNA transfection of these liposomes comparable to commercially available reagent (DOTAP) was achieved in vitro against Hela, HepG-2 and NCI-H460 cell lines. GU18 showed higher transfection at the N/P ratio of 3/1 than other cationic liposomes and the positive control, DOTAP. All of the liposomes presented a relatively low cytotoxicity, which was measured by MTT. Therefore, the synthetic lipids bearing unsaturated hydrophobic chains and Gemini-head could be promising candidates for gene delivery.     

‘Click’ synthesized sterol-based cationic lipids as gene carriers,and the effect of skeletons and headgroups on gene delivery

In this work, we have successfully prepared a series of new sterol-based cationic lipids (1–4) via an efficient ‘Click’ chemistry approach. The pDNA binding affinity of these lipids was examined by EB displacement and agarose-gel retardant assay. The average particle sizes and surface charges of the sterol-based cationic lipids/pDNA lipoplexes were analyzed by dynamic laser light scattering instrument (DLS), and the morphologies of the lipoplexes were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cytotoxicity of the lipids were examined by MTT and LDH assay, and the gene transfection efficiencies of these lipid carriers were investigated by luciferase gene transfection assay in various cell lines. In addition, the intracellular uptake and trafficking/localization behavior of the Cy3-DNA loaded lipoplexes were preliminarily studied by fluorescence microscopy. The results demonstrated that the pDNA loading capacity, lipoplex particle size, zeta potential and morphology of the sterol lipids/pDNA lipoplexes depended largely on the molecular structure factors including sterol-skeletons and headgroups. Furthermore, the sterol-based lipids showed quite different cytotoxicity and gene transfection efficacy in A549 and HeLa cells. Interestingly, it was found that the cholesterol-bearing lipids 1 and 2 showed 7–10⁴ times higher transfection capability than their lithocholate-bearing counterparts 3 and 4 in A549 and HeLa cell lines, suggested that the gene transfection capacity strongly relied on the structure of sterol skeletons. Moreover, the study on the structure–activity relationships of these sterol-based cationic lipid gene carriers provided a possible approach for developing low cytotoxic and high efficient lipid gene carriers by selecting suitable sterol hydrophobes and cationic headgroups.     

Novel macrocyclic and acyclic cationic lipids for gene transfer: synthesis and in vitro evaluation

The synthesis and in vitro evaluation of four cationic lipid gene delivery vectors, characterized by acyclic or macrocyclic, and saturated or unsaturated hydrophobic regions, is described. The synthesis employed standard protocols, including ring-closing metathesis for macrocyclic lipid construction. All lipoplexes studied, formulated from plasmid DNA and a liposome composed of a synthesized lipid, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (EPC), and either 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) or cholesterol as co-lipid, exhibited plasmid DNA binding and protection from DNase I degradation, and concentration dependent cytotoxicity using Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells. The transfection efficiency of formulations with cholesterol outperformed those with DOPE, and in many cases the EPC/cholesterol control, and formulations with a macrocyclic lipid (+/- 10:1) outperformed their acyclic counterparts (+/- 3:1).     

Multi‐armed poly(L‐glutamic acid)‐graft‐oligoethylenimine copolymers as efficient nonviral gene delivery vectors

Background

The application of polyethylenimine (PEI) in gene delivery has been severely limited by significant cytotoxicity that results from a nondegradable methylene backbone and high cationic charge density. It is therefore necessary to develop novel biodegradable PEI derivates for low‐toxic, highly efficient gene delivery.

Methods

A series of novel cationic copolymers with various charge density were designed and synthesized by grafting different kinds of oligoethylenimine (OEI) onto a determinate multi‐armed poly(L ‐glutamic acid) backbone. The molecular structures of multi‐armed poly(L ‐glutamic acid)‐graft‐OEI (MP‐g‐OEI) copolymers were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance, viscosimetry and gel permeation chromatography. Moreover, the MP‐g‐OEI/DNA complexes were measured by a gel retardation assay, dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy to determine DNA binding ability, particle size, zeta potential, complex formation and shape, respectively. MP‐g‐OEI copolymers were also evaluated in Chinese hamster ovary and human embryonic kidney‐293 cells for their cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency.

Results

The particle sizes of MP‐g‐OEI/DNA complexes were in a range of 109.6–182.6 nm and the zeta potentials were in a range of 29.2–44.5 mV above the N/P ratio of 5. All the MP‐g‐OEI copolymers exhibited lower cytotoxicity and higher gene transfection efficiency than PEI25k in the absence and presence of serum with different cell lines. Importantly, the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay revealed that the cytotoxicity of MP‐g‐OEI copolymers varied with their molecular weight and charge density, and two of MP‐g‐OEI copolymers (OEI600‐MP and OEI1800‐MP) could achieve optimal transfection efficiency at a similar low N/P ratio as that for PEI25k.

Conclusions

MP‐g‐OEI copolymers demonstrated considerable potential as nonviral vectors for gene therapy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.