Artificial viruses: a nanotechnological approach to gene delivery

Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding multidisciplinary field in which highly sophisticated nanoscale devices are constructed from atoms, molecules or ( macro) molecular assemblies. In the field of gene medicine, systems for delivering nucleic acids are being developed that incorporate virus-like functions in a single nanoparticle. Although their development is still in its infancy, it is expected that such artificial viruses will have a great impact on the advancements of gene therapeutics.