| 초록 |
Chitosan-based nanoparticles have attracted much attention to date as a gene delivery carrier, due to low toxicity, low immunogenicity, and positively charged amino groups of chitosan. In this study we hypothesized that negatively charged alginate, a typical biopolymer, can be used to form stable chitosan nanoparticles for gene delivery. A G-block of alginate, strongly related to ionic interactions of alginate, was isolated from the alginate backbone and used to form chitosan nanoparticles by a coacervation method. Chitosan nanoparticles with the mean diameter of 130 nm were prepared and their ability to form complexes with pDNA was confirmed. Chitosan/pDNA complexes were formed at various charge ratios and their size was in the ranges from 150 to 290 nm. Serum stability of the complexes as well as transfection efficiency was enhanced in case of using chitosan nanoparticles, compared .with naked DNA. |
