| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeM |
| Session: | Nano-Engineered Biointerfaces |
| Presenter: | S.H. Pun, University of Washington |
| Authors: | J.M. Bergen, University of Washington I.K. Park, University of Washington E. Kwon, University of Washington S.H. Pun, University of Washington |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Gene therapy offers the possibility of treating diseases by altering the protein expression profiles of affected cells. Nucleic acids can be condensed by complexation with cationic polymers to nanoparticle structures called "polyplexes". These synthetic vehicles can be used to accomplish gene delivery but are usually limited in their applications due to poor delivery efficiencies in non-dividing cells. I will describe our work on developing multicomponent polyplexes that incorporate biologically-derived peptides that facilitate delivery. Peptides that mediate neuron-specific uptake and endosomal release were incorporated into polyplexes. The intracellular trafficking of these materials was also investigated by live cell imaging in compartmented chambers. Incorporation of functional peptides improves delivery efficiency to cultured, neuron-like PC-12 cells.