Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
packaged the plasmid into stable nanocarriers. They indicated that PEG-PEI was a valid
gene delivery agent with better transfection efficiency than cationic liposomes in MSCs.
Polybutylcyanoacrylate
Polybutylcyanoacrylate (PBCA) is also a nonviral nanocarrier for gene delivery due to
its biodegradability and nonimmunogenicity. Polybutylcyanoacrylate acquires negative
charges. In order to prepare PBCA-DNA complexes, a cationic agent must be used to
modify the surface of PBCA nanoparticles to enable the surface to acquire positive charges.
Chung
et al
. [46] guided neuronal differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
with genetic regulation for regenerative medicine. They used PBCA nanocarriers to facili-
tate the intracellular delivery of plasmid DNA and mediate the transport of neurotrophin-3
(NT-3) into iPSCs. The PBCA nanoparticles could effectively package pDNA and increase
the particle size after they were given a negative charge on the surface. Therefore, treatments
with PBCA NP/NT-3 complexes could also enhance expressions of NT-3, TrkC, NH-H,
NSE, and PSD95 by differentiating iPSCs.
Inorganic Nanocarriers
Magnetic Nanoparticles
Magnetic-based nanocarriers present many advantages for cell therapies, such as safety,
delivery of bioactive agents (improvable by “magnetofection” approaches), magnetic cell
targeting of magnetic nanoparticle-labeled cells to injury sites, and noninvasive imaging of
magnetic nanoparticle-labeled transplant populations for cell tracking. Magnetic nanopar-
ticles (MNPs) have gained interest as nanocarriers for gene delivery [47], while DNA-MNP
complexes (called “Magnetoplex”) concentrate on the stem cells by applying an external
magnetic field to increase the sedimentation of the complex [48].
Although MNPs have been used for nonviral gene delivery in hMSCs, their application
for stem-cell transplantation therapies has received limited attention thus far. Pickard
et al
.
[49] evaluated the potential of MNPs for gene transfer to neural precursor/stem cells using
a neurosphere culture model system. They assessed repeat transfection (multifection) and
repeat transfection plus applied magnetic field (magneto-multifection) methods to enhance
transfection efficiency. They demonstrated for the first time that MNPs (neuromag particles
with positive charges) can properly mediate gene delivery to neural precursor/stem cells
(NPCs). Multifection approaches that markedly increased transfection with low toxicity
showed no unfavorable influence on stem-cell proliferation/differentiation. The multifected
NPCs that were used survived and differentiated in three-dimensional neural tissue arrays
post-transplantation. Their findings showed that magnetic nanoparticle offered a simple,
powerful alternative compared with viral vector systems used in neurobiology/neural trans-
plantation research.
Kim
et al
. [50] have used superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) to transfer
genes into umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCB-MSCs). This novel
transfection method that uses SPION is safe and effective for UCB-MSCs and can be a tool
for genetic optimization with a significant potential for cell tracing.
Silica Nanoparticles
Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) can be functionalized to change their surface characteristics.
The organically modified SiNPs show effective clearance
in vivo
without any sign of organ
toxicity despite the fact that SiNPs are not biodegradable [51]. Silica nanoparticles have
