Kato T, Iwamoto K, Ando H, Asakawa N, Tanaka I, Kikuchi J, Murakami Y
Department of Pharmaceutical Research, Tsukuba Research Laboratories, Eisai Co., Ltd., Ibaraki, Japan.
Biol Pharm Bull. 1996 Jun;19(6):860-3. doi: 10.1248/bpb.19.860.
A cationic peptide amphiphile comprising an L-alanine residue interposed between a charged head group and a double-chain segment, N,N-dihexadecyl-N alpha-[6-(trimethylammonio)- hexanoyl]-L-alaninamide bromide (NC5Ala2C16), was synthesized and used to prepare sonicated liposomes. We examined the efficiency of this liposome in gene transfer according to the transient expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). This cationic liposome reagent facilitates efficient DNA transfection in COS-7 cells. We determined the optimum conditions for NC5Ala2C16 liposome-mediated transfection. The optimal amounts of the amphiphile and plasmid DNA were determined to be about 100 micrograms and 10 micrograms per 35-mm dish, respectively. The activity of this liposome was greater than that of commercial reagents, lipofectin, and N-[1-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium methylsulfate (DOTAP), and it was less toxic than lipofectin and DOTAP in COS-7 cells.
