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A Highly Emissive Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Vector for Gene Delivery and Transfection
Author(s) -
Feng Xuli,
Lv Fengting,
Liu Libing,
Yang Qiong,
Wang Shu,
Bazan Guillermo C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201202145
Subject(s) - transfection , lipofectamine , polyethylenimine , gene delivery , materials science , biophysics , green fluorescent protein , nucleic acid , nuclease , fluorescence , conjugated system , nanotechnology , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , polymer , chemistry , gene , biology , biochemistry , vector (molecular biology) , recombinant dna , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material
An intrinsically fluorescent cationic polyfluorene ( CCP ) has been designed, synthesized, characterized, and examined as a plasmid DNA (pDNA) delivery vector. This material facilitates nucleic acid binding, encapsulation and efficient cellular uptake. CCP can effectively protect pDNA against nuclease degradation, which is necessary for gene carriers. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression experiments reveal that CCP can achieve efficient delivery and transfection of pDNA encoding GFP gene with 92% efficiency, which surpasses that of commercial transfection agents, lipofectamine 2000 (Lipo) and polyethylenimine (PEI). CCP is also highly fluorescent, with 43% quantum yield in water, and exhibits excellent photostability, which allows for real‐time tracking the location of gene delivery and transfection. These features and capabilities represent a major step toward designing and applying conjugated polymers that function in both imaging and therapeutic applications.