title: Therapeutic potential of chemically modified siRNA: Recent trends.
abstract: Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are one of the valuable tools to investigate the functions of genes and are also used for gene silencing. It has a wide scope in drug discovery through in vivo target validation. siRNA therapeutics are not optimal drug-like molecules due to poor bioavailability and immunogenic and off-target effects. To overcome the challenges associated with siRNA therapeutics, identification of appropriate chemical modifications that improves the stability, specificity and potency of siRNA is essential. This review focuses on the various chemical modifications and their implications in siRNA therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Chelliah
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1394-9349
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Selvam
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Mathematics, Albany State University, Albany, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mutisya
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Karpagam University, Coimbatore, India.
authors.forename: Sandhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kasturi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ranganna
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Karpagam University, Coimbatore, India.
authors.forename: Ramasamy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thilagavathi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D062105:Molecular Docking Simulation; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000067492:RNAi Therapeutics; D012266:Ribose / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012266:Ribose
keywords: chemically modified siRNA; siRNA binding; siRNA therapeutics