IALH Research Fellow Stephanie Willerth has co-authored a new research article entitled Optimization of precision nanofiber micelleplexes for DNA delivery. Collaborating authors include Steven T. G. Street, Hayley C. Parkin, Lennard Shopperly, Josie Chrenek, Keiran Letwin, and Ian Manners. The article was published in Biomaterials Science.
Abstract:
As nucleic acid (NA) technologies continue to revolutionize medicine, new delivery vehicles are needed to effectively transport NA cargoes into cells. Uniform and length-tunable nanofiber micelleplexes have recently shown promise as versatile polymeric delivery vehicles for plasmid DNA, however the effects of several key parameters on micelleplex transfection and stability remain unknown. In this work, we compare poly(fluorenetrimethylenecarbonate)-b-poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PFTMC-b-PDMAEMA) nanofiber micelleplexes to nanosphere micelleplexes and PDMAEMA polyplexes, examining the effects of complexation buffer, the temporal and serum stability of nanofiber micelleplexes, as well as the effects of cell density, cell type, and polymer DPn upon transfection efficiency and cell viability. These studies are vital for understanding the formation and biological activity of micelleplexes in more detail and should inform the future design of more advanced polymeric NA delivery systems.
To read the full article, see DOI: 10.1039/D2BM02014A