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Defined Polymeric Materials for Gene Delivery
Author(s) -
He Dongsheng,
Wagner Ernst
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201400524
Subject(s) - gene delivery , gene transfer , nanotechnology , polymer , genetic enhancement , dispersity , dendrimer , gene , computer science , materials science , chemistry , polymer chemistry , biochemistry , composite material
For successful gene therapy, the delivery of the curative genetic information into target cells is the main hurdle and the development of efficient and safe gene delivery carriers the crucial challenge. Polymeric materials have been widely investigated as gene delivery agents, generating first promising results. However, the heterogeneity and polydispersity of polymers and lack of site specific modifications make it difficult to achieve accurate structure‐activity relationship studies. Moreover it will hamper manufacturing of highly defined materials which could be used in clinical development. Therefore, polymers with precise chemical structure are required. In this review, we focus on the current design of defined polymeric materials for gene transfer. We first discuss the barriers for gene delivery, and then provide examples which illustrate defined polymeric vectors, including dendrimers, peptide carriers, and sequence‐defined oligoaminoamides.