Title:Synthetic and Biological Vesicular Nano-Carriers Designed for Gene Delivery
Volume: 21
Issue: 42
Author(s): Fatemeh Soltani, Hamideh Parhiz, Ahad Mokhtarzadeh and Mohammad Ramezani
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Gene delivery, vesicular systems, liposomes, biological vesicles.
Abstract: Synthetic and biological vesicular carriers have been recognized as attractive and intelligent systems for
delivery of a verity of bioactive molecules. The importance of such delivery systems can be mostly due to their
physicochemical properties, i.e. a lipid bilayer surrounding an aqueous core which allows encapsulation and protection
of active hydrophilic molecules such as nucleic acids. Synthetic vesicles such as liposomes have been studied
as gene delivery systems for decades. However, due to their fast clearance, toxicity and immunogenicity which
impose restrictions on clinical applications, some other natural lipid vesicles such as exosomes have been considered
as alternatives. Attractive features of nature's own ‘nano-vesicles’ such as exosomes, virosomes, bacterial
ghosts and erythrocyte ghosts include efficient cellular entry, physicochemical properties and evading immune responses. Nevertheless,
there are advantages and disadvantages with both synthetic and biological vesicular systems. Here, we provide an overview into different
vesicle-based gene delivery systems and discuss how various modifications in their structure and formulations could improve the transfection
efficiency and decrease the toxicity.
