title: The shape and size effects of polycation functionalized silica nanoparticles on gene transfection.
abstract: Silica nanoparticles are attractive candidates for the development of safe and efficient non-viral gene carriers, owing to their controlled morphologies, potential of facile surface modification and excellent biocompatibility as well as in vivo biodegradability. Conversely, the size and shape of nanoparticles are considered to have an intense influence on their interaction with cells and biological systems, but the effects of particle size and shape on gene transfection are poorly understood. In this work, a series of novel gene carriers were designed employing polycation modified silica nanoparticles with five different morphologies, while keeping uniform zeta potential and surface functionality. Then the effects of particle size and shape of these five different carriers on gene transfection were investigated. The morphology of silica nanoparticles is demonstrated to play an important role in gene transfection, especially when the amount of polycation is low. Chiral nanorods with larger aspect ratio were found to fabricate the most efficient gene carriers with compromised cytotoxicity. It was also noted that hollow nanosphere-based carriers exhibited better gene transfection performance than did solid counterparts. These results may provide new strategies to develop promising gene carriers and useful information for the application of nanoparticles in biomedical areas.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Xinyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: zhaonn@mail.buct.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Nana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: xufj@mail.buct.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fu-Jian
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002412:Cations; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004058:Diffusion; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009757:Nylons / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010957:Plasmids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D008689:Methacrylates; D053769:Nanocapsules; D009757:Nylons; C407037:poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate); D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: Gene transfection; Polycation; Shape; Silica nanoparticles; Size