title: Starburst low-molecular weight polyethylenimine for efficient gene delivery.
abstract: Low-molecular weight polyethylenimine (LMW PEI) shows the advantage of low-cytotoxicity, but has been inefficient in gene delivery as a consequence of the low-charge density. A number of previous studies employed the approach of crosslinking to solve this problem. In this study, a starburst LMW PEI gene vector has been developed. It has a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) core conjugated with a shell composed of LWM PEI and polyethylene glycol (PEG), that is PAMAM-PEI-PEG. Plasmid DNA (pEGFP-N1) and human cervix epithelial carcinoma (HeLa) cells were used in the study. The results showed that the starburst LMW PEI could effectively condense DNA at N/P above 5. The polyplexes had a size of about 500 nm and a nearly neutral surface because of the PEG shielding effect. This novel gene vector is able to maintain the low-cytotoxicity of LMW PEI, whereas its transfection efficiency was significantly improved.
authors: Tianjin Key Laboratory for Modern Drug Delivery & High Efficiency, School of Pharmaceutical Science & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yanjun
authors: Y
authors: Zhao
authors: Rulei
authors: R
authors: Yang
authors: Dong
authors: D
authors: Liu
authors: Mingjing
authors: M
authors: Sun
authors: Lijun
authors: L
authors: Zhou
authors: Zheng
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Wan
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; C104700:PAMAM Starburst; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011094:Polyethyleneimine