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Updated: Jul 2, 2026
Gene-therapy Inspired Polycation Coating for Protection of DNA Origami Nanostructures
Published on: January 19, 2019
Glycosaminoglycan-resistant and pH-sensitive lipid-coated DNA complexes produced by detergent removal method
Julia Lehtinen1, Zanna Hyvönen, Astrid Subrizi
1Centre for Drug Research, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 56, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. julia.lehtinen@helsinki.fi
Abstract:
Cationic polymers are efficient gene delivery vectors in in vitro conditions, but these carriers can fail in vivo due to interactions with extracellular polyanions, i.e. glycosaminoglycans (GAG). The aim of this study was to develop a stable gene delivery vector that is activated at the acidic endosomal pH. Cationic DNA/PEI complexes were coated by 1,2-dioleylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS) (3:2 mol/mol) using two coating methods: detergent removal and mixing with liposomes prepared by ethanol injection. Only detergent removal produced lipid-coated DNA complexes that were stable against GAGs, but were membrane active at low pH towards endosome mimicking liposomes. In relation to the low cellular uptake of the coated complexes, their transfection efficacy was relatively high. PEGylation of the coated complexes increased their cellular uptake but reduced the pH-sensitivity. Detergent removal was thus a superior method for the production of stable, but acid activatable, lipid-coated DNA complexes.
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