Dual-functionalized calcium nanocomplexes for transfection of cancerous and stem cells: Low molecular weight polycation-mediated colloidal stability and ATP-mediated endosomal release

Recent Advances in Epsilon-Poly-L-Lysine and L-Lysine-Based Dendrimer Synthesis, Modification, and Biomedical Applications

“…EPL is generally believed to be safe, and it has been permitted by the Food and Drug Administration in several counties as a commercial food preservative (Cai et al, 2015 ; Buzon-Duran et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2019 ; Wang C. Y. et al, 2020 ). With its excellent polycationic property related to its abundant amino terminals in physiological environment and the propensity to self-assemble when modified as an amphipathic molecular (Huang et al, 2015 ; Choi et al, 2018 ; Niu et al, 2019 ; Li Y. et al, 2020 ), EPL has become a great candidate to be used in numerous fields, including antimicrobial agents, drug delivery carriers, and adjuvants in biomedical fields.…”

“…When tetraphenylethylene or acylated fluorescein is incorporated into the EPL-related drug system, it could show an aggregation-induced emission effect or a fluorescence that could be used in positron emission tomography treatment, bioimaging, or theranostic platform (Huang et al, 2015 ; Li Y. et al, 2020 ). EPL could also be associated with gene therapy, such as the formation of Ca 2+ /pDNA/polycationic nanocomposites, as a new stable gene vector, with the addition of adenosine triphosphate to improve transfection efficiency (Choi et al, 2018 ) or as a ligand to G-quadruplex, a secondary structure of DNA, with different binding modes in accordance with its target G-quadruplex's topologies (Marzano et al, 2020 ). By combination with these agents, the whole system could show better effectiveness and lower toxicity than injecting an equal dose of antitumor drugs alone and aid in locating the lesion sites.…”