Synthesis and Evaluation of Tetramethylguanidinium-Polyethylenimine Polymers as Efficient Gene Delivery Vectors. (24th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mahato, Manohar; Yadav, Santosh; Kumar, Pradeep; Sharma, Ashwani Kumar
• Other Names: Nimesh Surendra Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2014(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-04-24
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/459736
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Previously, we demonstrated that 6-(N, N, N′, N′-tetramethylguanidinium chloride)-hexanoyl-polyethylenimine (THP) polymers exhibited significantly enhanced transfection efficiency and cell viability. Here, in the present study, we have synthesized a series of N, N, N′, N′-tetramethylguanidinium-polyethylenimine (TP1-TP5) polymers via a single-step reaction involving peripheral primary amines of bPEI and varying amounts of 2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1, 1, 3, 3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU). These polymers were found to interact efficiently with negatively charged pDNA and formed stable complexes in the size range of ~240–450 nm. Acid-base titration profiles revealed improved buffering capacity of TP polymers as compared to bPEI. Transfection and cytotoxicity assays performed with TP/pDNA complexes on HEK293, CHO, and HeLa cells showed significantly higher transfection efficiency and cell viability with one of the complexes, TP2/pDNA complex, exhibited the highest transfection efficiency (~1.4–2.3-fold) outcompeting native bPEI and the commercially available transfection reagent, Lipofectamine 2000. Compared to previously reported THP polymers, the transfection efficiency of TP/pDNA complexes was found to be lower, as examined by flow cytometry. These results highlight the importance of the hydrophobic C-6 linker in THP polymers in forming compact nanostructures with pDNA, which might lead to efficient uptake and internalization of the complexes; however, the projected TP polymers offer an advantage of their rapid and economical one-step synthesis.