Low-molecular weight polyethylenimine (LMW PEI) shows the advantage of low-cytotoxicity, but has been inefficient in gene delivery as a consequence of the low-charge density. A number of previous studies employed the approach of crosslinking to solve this problem. In this study, a starburst LMW PEI gene vector has been developed. It has a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) core conjugated with a shell composed of LWM PEI and polyethylene glycol (PEG), that is PAMAM-PEI-PEG. Plasmid DNA (pEGFP-N1) and human cervix epithelial carcinoma (HeLa) cells were used in the study. The results showed that the starburst LMW PEI could effectively condense DNA at N/P above 5. The polyplexes had a size of about 500 nm and a nearly neutral surface because of the PEG shielding effect. This novel gene vector is able to maintain the low-cytotoxicity of LMW PEI, whereas its transfection efficiency was significantly improved.
Combinatorial chemistry has become a significant part of the discovery and optimization process for novel drugs, affinity ligands, and catalysts. The polymeric supports play a key role in combinatory chemistry. Therefore, various kinds of functional polymer resins have been exploited as supports, reagents, and catalysts in organic synthesis. In comparison to the conventional Merrifield resins, the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-related polymer resins have advantages including good compatibilities with polar solvents, good solvent absorbency and swelling properties. This review focuses primarily on the more recent work in the field of developing PEG-related polymer resins as supports for organic synthesis. combinatorial chemistry, polymer resins, poly(ethylene glycol), organic synthesis
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