Nucleic acid delivery with chitosan and its derivatives

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Gene Therapy Delivery
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Chitosan is a biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic polysaccharide with cationic properties.
• It can condense and protect nucleic acids (NA) from degradation.
• However, poor water solubility and low transfection efficacy limit its use as a nucleic acid carrier.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the physical and biological properties of chitosan.
• To discuss recent advancements in chitosan-based nucleic acid delivery, focusing on plasmid DNA.
• To identify future research directions in chitosan-mediated NA therapy.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of chitosan properties and modification strategies.
• Focus on studies detailing chitosan's interaction with plasmid DNA.
• Analysis of emerging trends in chitosan-mediated gene transfer.

Main Results:

• Chitosan's inherent properties make it a potential candidate for NA delivery.
• Various modification and formulation strategies have been developed to enhance chitosan's performance.
• Plasmid DNA delivery using chitosan has shown significant progress.

Conclusions:

• Chitosan holds potential as a non-viral vector for gene therapy.
• Further research is needed to optimize chitosan-based systems for enhanced NA delivery and therapeutic efficacy.
• Future directions include therapeutic small RNA transfer, structure-activity relationship studies, and oral/nasal delivery systems.