Preparation and characterization of gelatin nanoparticles containing pDNA encoding IL-12 and their expression in CT-26 carcinoma cells.

AIM

Gelatin as a biodegradable, nontoxic and biocompatible natural protein is a good candidate for gene delivery. In this study, pDNA-loaded gelatin nanoparticles were prepared and characterized for the expression of the cytokine IL-12 and anti-tumor effects.

MATERIALS & METHODS: Gelatin-pUMVC3-hIL-12 nanoparticles were prepared by the ethanol precipitation technique and evaluated for physicochemical characteristics, cytotoxiciy and transfection efficiency.

RESULTS

The prepared particles were spherical in shape with sizes varying from 344.27 to 826.23 nm, ζ-potentials between -944 and -165 mV, and greater than 97% encapsulation efficiency. The particles were nontoxic to CT-26 carcinoma cells. The nanoparticles prepared using 0.5% gelatin solution (G14) with a mean particle size of 816.87 nm (polydispersity index = 0.56 ± 0.01) demonstrated maximum transfection efficiency with 2.5-times higher expression compared with the naked plasmid.

CONCLUSION

Gelatin-DNA nanoparticles using 0.5% gelatin solution had minimal cytotoxicity and can be used as a suitable candidate for further gene delivery studies and applications.