Trehalose-based Siamese twin amphiphiles with tunable self-assembling, DNA nanocomplexing and gene delivery...

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Biotechnology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Gene delivery vectors are crucial for genetic therapies.
• Developing safe and efficient non-viral vectors remains a challenge.
• Multivalent surfactants offer unique self-assembly properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel family of multivalent cationic surfactants.
• To investigate their self-assembly behavior and nanocomplex formation with plasmid DNA.
• To evaluate their efficiency for gene delivery in vitro and in vivo.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of cationic Siamese twin surfactants derived from trehalose.
• Characterization of surfactant self-assembly and amphiphilicity.
• Formation and topological analysis of DNA nanocomplexes.
• In vitro and in vivo gene delivery assays.

Main Results:

• A new class of multivalent cationic surfactants (Siamese twin surfactants) was successfully prepared.
• Molecular engineering allowed modulation of self-assembly and nanocomplex topology.
• Efficient gene delivery was demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Conclusions:

• Trehalose-based cationic Siamese twin surfactants are effective multivalent vectors.
• These surfactants offer a tunable platform for advanced gene delivery systems.
• The developed vectors show promise for future therapeutic applications.