Functional star polymers as reagents for efficient nucleic acids delivery into HT-1080 cells

Star polymers of N,N '-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and hydroxyl-bearing oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA-OH) were used as pDNA and mRNA carriers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of stars in the formation of polyplexes with mRNA. Polyplexes efficiently delivered nucleic acids into HT-1080 cells, while their cytotoxicity was kept significantly low due to the presence of OEGMA-OH units in the star. Hydroxyl functionalities were used for the introduction of fluorophore moieties for monitoring of the complex location after the cell uptake. Thus, versatile gene delivery vectors based upon functional star polymers were developed.

Automated summary

Star polymers were used as carriers for pDNA and mRNA, successfully delivering nucleic acids into cells with low cytotoxicity. Hydroxyl functionalities were utilized to introduce fluorophore moieties for tracking the location of the complexes after cellular uptake. Versatile gene delivery vectors were developed based on these functional star polymers.