Journal
BIOMOLECULES
Volume 12, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/biom12081012
Keywords
nanoparticle; coaxial electrospraying; polyethylenimine; RNA-therapeutics; aptamers; muscle-specific therapy; spinal muscular atrophy; Nusinersen
Categories
Funding
- Fundacio La Marato de TV3 [PID2021-126820OB-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, 202005-31]
- [PID2019-105827RB-I00]
- [PCI2018-092929]
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In this study, we compared the synthesis of polyethyleneimine (PEI) nanoparticles using different methods and found that coaxial electrospraying is a promising technique for the production of therapeutic nanoparticle-based carriers. The nanoparticles synthesized by coaxial electrospraying showed efficient RNA-based drug encapsulation, increased nanoparticle surface availability for functionalization, high transfection efficiency, and hyperactivation of clathrin-independent endocytic pathways as the main intracellular uptake mechanism.
In this work, we performed a methodological comparative analysis to synthesize polyethyleneimine (PEI) nanoparticles using (i) conventional nanoprecipitation (NP), (ii) electrospraying (ES), and (iii) coaxial electrospraying (CA). The nanoparticles transported antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), either encapsulated (CA nanocomplexes) or electrostatically bound externally (NP and ES nanocomplexes). After synthesis, the PEI/ASO nanoconjugates were functionalized with a muscle-specific RNA aptamer. Using this combinatorial formulation methodology, we obtained nanocomplexes that were further used as nanocarriers for the delivery of RNA therapeutics (ASO), specifically into muscle cells. In particular, we performed a detailed confocal microscopy-based comparative study to analyze the overall transfection efficiency, the cell-to-cell homogeneity, and the mean fluorescence intensity per cell of micron-sized domains enriched with the nanocomplexes. Furthermore, using high-magnification electron microscopy, we were able to describe, in detail, the ultrastructural basis of the cellular uptake and intracellular trafficking of nanocomplexes by the clathrin-independent endocytic pathway. Our results are a clear demonstration that coaxial electrospraying is a promising methodology for the synthesis of therapeutic nanoparticle-based carriers. Some of the principal features that the nanoparticles synthesized by coaxial electrospraying exhibit are efficient RNA-based drug encapsulation, increased nanoparticle surface availability for aptamer functionalization, a high transfection efficiency, and hyperactivation of the endocytosis and early/late endosome route as the main intracellular uptake mechanism.
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