Disposition of non-viral gene delivery systems and oligonucleotides

At the 1998 annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), held in San Francisco, there was a roundtable discussion meeting entitled 'Disposition of Non-viral Gene Delivery Systems and Oligonucleotides'. Four speakers presented the advances made by their research groups in this area. The non-viral delivery systems utilized lipid, peptide, and polymeric carriers. The disposition of naked plasmid DNA was compared with complexed and condensed DNA. Although the disposition kinetics were more favorable with cationic systems, the expression levels obtained from naked DNA were superior. Interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) containing pluronic units are efficient for transfection. With the FDA approval of the first antisense oligonucleotide for therapeutic applications, there is growing interest in the development of antisense oligonucleotides. ISIS Pharmaceuticals Inc (Carlsbad, CA, USA) is evaluating various routes of delivery for oligonucleotides, including oral, rectal, inhalation, intravitreal and dermal routes.