Hydrothermal Reduction of Polyethylenimine and Polyethylene Glycol Dual-Functionalized Nanographene Oxide for High-Efficiency Gene Delivery.
In this study, a physiologically stable dual-polymer-functionalized reduced nanographene oxide (nrGO) conjugate (PEG-nrGO-PEI, RGPP) with high efficiency of gene delivery is successfully synthesized through mixing PEGylated nanographene oxide (PEG-nGO, GP) and polyethylenimine (PEI, 25 kDa) solution under 80 °C for 2 h. This hydrothermal reduction of GP during PEIylation promotes the nucleophilic reaction between the amino moieties of PEI and the epoxy groups (or carboxylic groups) in GP and then forms C-NH- groups (or NH-CO groups) to covalently connect PEI and GP, which makes the RGPP nanocomposite more stable in physiological environments and has superior gene transfection efficiency compared with the nonhydrothermally reduced PEG-nGO/PEI conjugate (GPP) obtained by mixing GP and PEI under 20 °C for 2 h. Moreover, 808 nm laser irradiation (2 W/cm2) for 25 min increases ∼1.5-fold of gene transfection efficiency for RGPP but does not increase the gene transfection efficiency of GPP. Finally, RGPP is also able to efficiently deliver functional plasmid GFP-Bax (pGFP-Bax), exhibiting ∼43% of transfection efficiency in HepG2 cells. Collectively, the RGPP developed here is a highly efficient nanocarrier for gene delivery, and this work encourages further explorations of developing functionalized reduced nano-GO for high-efficiency gene therapy.
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Tan
T
Li
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Liping
L
Wu
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Jiang
J
Zhang
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Gaina
G
Xi
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Yilin
Y
Pang
Department of Pain Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University , Guangzhou, 510632, China.
Xiaoping
X
Wang
MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631, China.
Tongsheng
T
Chen
D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006108:Graphite; D049329:Nanostructures; D010087:Oxides; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000737:chemistry*; D014162:Transfection
D010087:Oxides; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006108:Graphite; D011094:Polyethyleneimine
gene delivery; hydrothermal reduction; nanographene oxide; photothermal effect; polyethylene glycol; polyethylenimine