Combination of poly(ethylenimine) and chitosan induces high gene transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity.
In this study, the cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency of using chitosan/DNA complex combined with poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) were investigated. The combination of PEI with the chitosan/DNA complex markedly enhanced the gene expression of HeLa cells to 1000-fold of that induced by chitosan alone. PEI's cytotoxicity was considerably decreased upon combination with the chitosan/DNA complex. Furthermore, the PEI/chitosan/DNA could maintain the gene expression efficiency in the presence of serum.
Zhao
Qing-Qing
QQ
College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Chen
Jin-Liang
JL
Han
Min
M
Liang
Wen-Quan
WQ
Tabata
Yasuhiko
Y
Gao
Jian-Qing
JQ
D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000737:chemistry*; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*
D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D004247:DNA; D048271:Chitosan