Pharmaceutical strategies enhancing cell penetration efficiencies of non-viral gene delivery systems

To achieve therapeutic effects, gene transportation or gene transfection becomes the key technique of gene therapy. Since viral vectors for gene therapy have shown serious problems, including immunogenicity and other adverse effects, non-viral carriers have attracted a great deal of attention, despite the fact that the transfection efficiencies are lower than those by viral carriers. Therefore, the major challenge of gene delivery is to improve the transfection efficiencies of the non-viral carriers, and first of all, the cell penetration efficiencies. This review focuses on recent approaches in the development of new non-viral gene delivery vectors, with great respect to those constructed based on cell penetration pathways of intracellular process considering transfection efficiency and cell penetration efficiency. Further development of sophisticated delivery systems is prospected for the non-viral vectors application in gene therapy.