Reducible disulfide-based non-viral gene delivery systems.
The design and synthesis of safe efficient non-viral vectors for gene delivery has attracted significant attention in recent years due primarily to the severe side-effect profile reported with the use of their viral counterparts. Previous experiments have revealed that the strong interaction between the carriers and nucleic acid may well hinder the release of the gene from the complex in the cytosol adversely affecting transfection efficiency. However, incorporating reducible disulfide bonds within the delivery systems themselves which are then cleaved in the glutathione-rich intracellular environment may help in solving this puzzle. This review focuses on recent development of these reducible carriers. The biological rationale and approaches to the synthesis of reducible vectors are discussed in detail. The in vitro and in vivo evaluations of reducible carriers are also summarized and it is evident that they offer a promising approach in non-viral gene delivery system design.
Ouyang
Defang
D
School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Shah
Neha
N
Zhang
Hong
H
Smith
Sean C
SC
Parekh
Harendra S
HS
D000818:Animals; D004220:Disulfides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans
D004220:Disulfides; D004337:Drug Carriers