Non-viral vectors for the mediation of RNAi

Though the delivery of siRNA into cells, tissues or organs remains to be a big obstacle for its applications, recently siRNA therapeutics has developed rapidly and already there are clinical trials ongoing or planned. Some non-viral vectors have attracted much more attention and shown the great potential for combating the delivery obstacle. As a novel class of lipid like materials lipidoids have the advantages of easy synthesis and large library of compounds. Cell penetrating peptides and chitosans have been used for the delivery of bioactive molecules for many years, but they are showing great promise for the delivery of siRNA. The hybrids of inorganic particles and the conjugates of siRNA have indicated the complex utilization different materials may provide another solution to the delivery problem. The most exciting thing is some clinical trials are undergoing, which provokes the hope of real curing method by using RNAi mediated by some non-viral vectors.