Effect of molecular weight on the transfection efficiency of novel polyurethane as a biodegradable gene vector.
New polyurethane 2-diethylaminoethylamine-polyurethane (LGEA-PU) containing poly(ethylene glycol) segments and tertiary amines was synthesized. LGEA-PU self-assembled readily with the plasmid DNA (pCMV-betagal) in HEPES buffer and was characterized by dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, atomic force microscopy, and XTT cell viability assays. To examine the effect of molecular weight of LGEA-PU systems on transfection, LGEA-PU systems of four different molecular weights (LGEA-PU99, LGEA-PU59, LGEA-PU24, and LGEA-PU7) were prepared. This study found that LGEA-PU99, LGEA-PU59, and LGEA-PU24 were able to bind plasmid DNA and yielded positively charged complexes with a nano-sized transfection (<200 nm). The LGEA-PU59/DNA complexes were able to transfect COS-7 cells in vitro with higher transfection efficiency than the other LGEA-PU systems. These results demonstrated that molecular weights of LGEA-PU systems had a significant effect on transferring ability, except for LGEA-PU99, which showed the strongest DNA condensation. Examination of the cytotoxicity of PEI and LGEA-PU systems revealed that LGEA-PU systems had lower cytotoxicity. In this article, LGEA-PU59 seemed to be a novel cationic polyurethane for gene delivery and an interesting candidate for further study.
Department of Applied Chemistry, Chia-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, 60 Erh-Jen Rd., Sec 1, Jen-Te, Taiwan, Republic of China. minda.shau@msa.hinet.net
Min-Da
MD
Shau
S-Ja
SJ
Tseng
Tsung-Fu
TF
Yang
Jong-Yuh
JY
Cherng
Wei-Kuo
WK
Chin
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011140:Polyurethanes