| 초록 |
Delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been attractive for treatment of various diseases, including infectious disease. However, naked siRNA is rapidly degraded by nucleases, resulting in poor cellular uptake and low transfection efficiency. Thus, siRNA is often combined with cationic polymers to overcome these limitations. In this study, we hypothesized that 9R-modified chitosan could be useful to enhance stability of chitosan/siRNA nanoparticles and to improve cellular association and gene silencing efficiency. Various physicochemical characteristics of 9R-chitosan/siRNA nanoparticles, including size, surface charge, complex forming ability, cytotoxicity, and transfection efficiency were investigated. This approach to developing novel delivery systems using biocompatible and low toxic natural polymer-derivatives may provide a useful means in many gene delivery applications. |
