title: Will Nanotechnology Bring New Hope for Gene Delivery?
abstract: The high mortality rates of cancer patients receiving standard treatments emphasize the crucial need for alternative treatments. One promising strategy is to use organic nanoparticles (NPs) for gene delivery. Although multifunctional NPs theoretically have many desirable properties as gene vectors, there are several practical barriers to successful gene delivery. In this review we discuss the properties of NPs and overview in vitro and preclinical studies of organic NPs over the past 5 years. The results of recent clinical trials suggest that the NP field holds significant promise. The annual market value for successful gene delivery could exceed US$30 billion, and this will encourage researchers to study the application of NPs to therapeutic gene delivery.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Joanna K L
authors.initials: JKL
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Rashin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohseni
authors.affiliation: Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hamidieh
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: MacLaren
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Nagy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Habib
authors.affiliation: Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine Centre (Ltd), The London Innovation BioScience Centre, London, UK. Electronic address: a.seifalian@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Seifalian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014162:Transfection / Q000639:trends*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D053769:Nanocapsules; D004247:DNA