Gemini Surfactants: A New Family of Building Blocks for Non-Viral Gene Delivery Systems

Title: Gemini Surfactants: A New Family of Building Blocks for Non-Viral Gene Delivery Systems

Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Author(s): Shawn D. Wettig, Ronald E. Verrall and Marianna Foldvari

Affiliation:

Keywords: Gene therapy, gemini surfactant, non-viral, transfection, delivery system, in vivo, in vitro

Abstract: Gemini surfactants provide a significant opportunity in the development of new non-viral delivery systems designed for gene therapy applications. This review summarizes the wide range of gemini surfactant structures that have been employed for DNA transfection in vitro. A general observation is that those structures capable of inducing a wide variety of polymorphic structures (lamellar, hexagonal, or cubic phases) demonstrate higher transfection efficiencies. Those compounds whose structures result in pH-dependent changes in aggregate structure similarly show higher levels of transfection. In vivo transfection using gemini surfactants has been demonstrated in only three cases, and in a recent study the transfection was linked to a specific therapeutic response.

Cite this article as:

Wettig D. Shawn, Verrall E. Ronald and Foldvari Marianna, Gemini Surfactants: A New Family of Building Blocks for Non-Viral Gene Delivery Systems, Current Gene Therapy 2008; 8 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156652308783688491