These results demonstrated the active targeting ability of this kind of mannan-modified DNA-loaded vehicles, which may have great potential for targeted gene delivery.
Cationic solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) can bind DNA directly via ionic interaction and mediate in vitro gene transfection. However, toxicity is still an obstacle, which is strongly dependent on the cationic lipid used. In the present study, a novel single-tailed cationic lipid, 6-lauroxyhexyl lysinate (LHLN), was synthesized and used as a modifier to prepare stable SLN-DNA complexes by a nanoprecipitation method. The commonly used cationic lipid cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) modified SLN-DNA formulation served as a contrast. These two formulations were characterized and compared in terms of morphology, particle size, surface charge, DNA binding capacity, release profile, cytotoxicity, and transfection efficiency. The LHLN SLN-DNA complexes had a similar spherical morphology, a relatively narrow particle size distribution and a more remarkable DNA loading capability compared to the CTAB ones. Most importantly, LHLN modified SLN had a higher gene transfection efficiency than the naked DNA and CTAB ones, which was approximately equal to that of Lipofectamine-DNA complexes, and a lower cytotoxicity compared with CTAB-SLN and Lipofectamine 2000. Thus, the novel cationic SLN can achieve efficient transfection of plasmid DNA, and to some extent reduce the cytotoxicity, which might overcome some drawbacks of the conventional cationic nanocarriers in vivo and may become a promising non-viral gene therapy vector.
Nanocarriers are effective non-viral vectors for drug and gene delivery with low immunogenicity in comparison with viral vectors. However, the lack of organ or cell specificity sometimes hinders their application and brings about unexpected side effects. Active targeting is an outstanding strategy recently developed for drug delivery systems, for example, surface modification of nanocarriers with specific ligands could target the pathological area to provide the maximum therapeutic efficacy. In such cases, the characteristics of the ligands determine the active targeting abilities of the nanocarrier systems. Recently, more attentions have been paid to saccharides as ligands for saccharide-modified nanocarriers, possesing the receptor-mediated targeting properties and showing the potential for cell-specific delivery of drugs and genes. In this review, various kinds of glycosylated nanocarriers are discussed, including: varying ligands, targeting properties, therapeutic effects, and methods for administering the nanocarriers. The advantages as well as the probable associated drawbacks of these vectors are communicated.
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