Reducible disulfide-based non-viral gene delivery systems

Defang Ouyang, Neha Shah, Hong Zhang, Sean C. Smith, Harendra S. Parekh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The design and synthesis of safe efficient non-viral vectors for gene delivery has attracted significant attention in recent years due primarily to the severe side-effect profile reported with the use of their viral counterparts. Previous experiments have revealed that the strong interaction between the carriers and nucleic acid may well hinder the release of the gene from the complex in the cytosol adversely affecting transfection efficiency. However, incorporating reducible disulfide bonds within the delivery systems themselves which are then cleaved in the glutathione-rich intracellular environment may help in solving this puzzle. This review focuses on recent development of these reducible carriers. The biological rationale and approaches to the synthesis of reducible vectors are discussed in detail. The in vitro and in vivo evaluations of reducible carriers are also summarized and it is evident that they offer a promising approach in non-viral gene delivery system design.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1242-1250
Number of pages9
JournalMini - Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry
Volume9
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2009

Keywords

  • animals
  • disulfides
  • drug carriers
  • gene transfer techniques
  • humans

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