Nanocapsules of a cationic polyelectrolyte and nucleic acid for efficient cellular uptake and gene transfer

Polyelectrolyte nanocapsules, consisting of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and a nucleic acid, i.e. either DNA or siRNA, were prepared with calcium phosphate nanoparticles as template. This inorganic core was removed by a combination of acid treatment and dialysis, leading to capsules with a diameter of about 140 nm. These capsules were well taken up by HeLa cells and led to an efficient gene transfer, i.e. transfection by DNA and gene silencing by siRNA. They behaved clearly different from unstructured aggregates of DNA and PAH, i.e. polyplexes, underscoring the effect of their internal structure.