Charge-switching amino acids-based cationic lipids for efficient gene delivery

Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2015 Dec 15;25(24):5677-81. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2015.11.001. Epub 2015 Nov 2.

Abstract

A series of charge-switching amino acids-based cationic lipids 4a-4e bearing a benzyl ester at the terminus of the acyl chain, but differing in the polar-head group were prepared. The physicochemical properties of these lipids, including size, zeta potential and cellular uptake of the lipoplexes formed from with DNA, as well as the transfection efficiency (TE), were investigated. The results showed that the chemical structure of the cationic head-group clearly affects the physicochemical parameters of the amino acid-based lipids and especially the TE. The selected lipid, 4c gave 2.1 times higher TE than bPEI 25k in the presence of 10% serum in HeLa cells, with little toxicity.

Keywords: Amino acids; Cationic lipid; Charge-switching; Non-viral vector; Serum.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / chemistry*
  • Cations / chemistry
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Lipids / chemical synthesis
  • Lipids / chemistry*
  • Liposomes / chemistry
  • Liposomes / metabolism
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Transfection / methods*

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Cations
  • Lipids
  • Liposomes