Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
J Phys Chem B. 2010 Feb 11;114(5):2028-32. doi: 10.1021/jp9103382.
Nanolipoplexes have emerged worldwide as the most prevalent synthetic gene delivery system. Nowadays, it is accepted that complete DNA protection and a precise control of the physical attributes of emerging complexes are major steps toward rational design of efficient nanocarriers. Here we revise the mechanism of DNA adsorption to the cationic membranes of lipid nanovectors. Here we show that both the DNA-binding ability of cationic membranes and the one-dimensional DNA packing density inside the complex depend on the cationic lipid/anionic DNA charge ratio. Remarkably, both these distributions are rescaled on universal curves when plotted against gamma, a dimensionless quantity expressing the ratio between the area of cationic membranes and that occupied by DNA molecules. As a result, the DNA condensation on the surface of lipid nanocarriers can be regarded as a two-step process. Our findings indicate a successful way to the rational design of next-generation drug delivery nanocarriers.
纳米脂质体已成为全球最流行的合成基因传递系统。如今，人们普遍认为，完全保护 DNA 并精确控制新兴复合物的物理属性是合理设计高效纳米载体的重要步骤。在这里，我们修正了 DNA 吸附到脂质纳米载体阳离子膜的机制。我们表明，阳离子膜的 DNA 结合能力和复合物内一维 DNA 包装密度都取决于阳离子脂质/阴离子 DNA 的电荷比。值得注意的是，当将这两个分布分别针对无量纲量 γ（表示阳离子膜面积与 DNA 分子占据面积之比）作图时，它们都可以在通用曲线上进行缩放。因此，脂质纳米载体表面上的 DNA 凝聚可以被视为一个两步过程。我们的研究结果为下一代药物传递纳米载体的合理设计指明了一条成功的道路。
