A novel biodegradable star-shaped poly-asparamide (SP) was developed for gene delivery. We discovered that the star-shaped polymer showed higher gene transfection efficiency in cell culture than the linear counterparts (LP1 (low MW), LP2 (high MW)). What is more intriguing is that the plasmid DNA nanoparticles formed with the star polymer can specifically deliver the gene to the lung in mice and completely avoid the liver accumulation, where most of the nanoparticle delivery systems end up with. In contrast, the plasmid DNA nanoparticles formed with the linear polymer can only accumulate in the liver and express the gene with much lower efficiency. This novel star polymer is applied in an orthotopic lung cancer model to knockdown oncogenes in order to overcome drug resistance.

Molecular architecture matters: Star-shaped biodegradable polyasparamide outperforms linear counterparts for in vivo nonviral gene delivery

247th National Meeting (2014)

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