title: TAT conjugated cationic noble metal nanoparticles for gene delivery to epidermal stem cells.
abstract: Most nonviral gene delivery systems are not efficient enough to manipulate the difficult-to-transfect cell types, including non-dividing, primary, neuronal or stem cells, due to a lack of an intrinsic capacity to enter the membrane and nucleus, release its DNA payload, and activate transcription. Noble metal nanoclusters have emerged as a fascinating area of widespread interest in nanomaterials. Herein, we report the synthesis of the TAT peptide conjugated cationic noble metal nanoparticles (metal NPs@PEI-TAT) as highly efficient carriers for gene delivery to stem cells. The metal NPs@PEI-TAT integrate the advantages of metal NPs and peptides: the presence of metal NPs can effectively decrease the cytotoxicity of cationic molecules, making it possible to apply them in biological systems, while the cell penetrating peptides are essential for enhanced cellular and nucleus entry to achieve high transfection efficiency. Our studies provide strong evidence that the metal NPs@PEI-TAT can be engineered as gene delivery agents for stem cells and subsequently enhance their directed differentiation for biomedical application.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-Hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Chen-Zhen
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Jia-He
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Xia-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Bionanoengineering and State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: You-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China. Electronic address: zwmao@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zheng-Wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen-Quan
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China. Electronic address: gaojianqing@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Qing
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry*; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry; D013234:Stem Cells; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012834:Silver; D006046:Gold; D004247:DNA
keywords: Gene delivery; Metal nanoparticles; Stem cell; TAT conjugation