title: Complexation of bioreducible cationic polymers with gold nanoparticles for improving stability in serum and application on nonviral gene delivery.
abstract: Widespread applications of conventional polymeric gene carriers are greatly hampered by their inefficient transfection performance under serum-containing environment. Aiming to overcome this limitation, we propose a bioreducible polyethylenimine-gold nanocomplex system (SSPEI-Au NC), which can be prepared by a simple layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly procedure. SSPEI-Au NC contains sequentially deposited layers of bioreducible polyethylenimine (SSPEI) and poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) for efficient binding and delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA). SSPEI-Au NC was characterized for various physicochemical properties, including: UV-vis spectra, TEM imaging, hydrodynamic size, and pDNA binding ability. The SSPEI-Au NC were efficiently uptaken by mammalian cells as observed using dark-field microscopy. Comparing to nondegradable PEI25k, the bioreducible SSPEI-Au NC exhibited superior transfection capability under serum-containing condition while causing lower cytotoxicity on mammalian cell lines. The effect of serum on SSPEI-Au NC dispersity was studied using UV-vis spectrometry and the results suggest that serum-assisted colloidal stability of SSPEI-Au NC contributed to its serum-resistant transfection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Chiao
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D002412:Cations; D004247:DNA / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry*; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D053769:Nanocapsules; D011108:Polymers; D006046:Gold; D004247:DNA
keywords: bioreducible polyethylenimine; gene delivery; gold nanoparticles; layer-by-layer assembly; serum-resistant transfection