title: Dendrimers as synthetic gene vectors: cell membrane attachment.
abstract: We present molecular-level simulations of dendrimer/DNA complexes in the presence of a model cell membrane. We determine the required conditions for the complex to arrive intact at the membrane, and the lifetime of the complex as it resides attached to the membrane. Our simulations directly pertain to critical issues arising in emerging gene delivery therapeutic applications, where a molecular carrier is required to deliver DNA segments to the interior of living cells.
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. nvoul@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Voulgarakis
authors.forename: K Ø
authors.initials: KØ
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011336:Probability
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D004247:DNA