Polymeric Nanoparticles in Gene Therapy: New Avenues of Design and Optimization for Delivery Applications (original) (raw)

The field of polymeric nanoparticles is quickly expanding and playing a pivotal role in a wide spectrum of areas ranging from electronics, photonics, conducting materials, and sensors to medicine, pollution control, and environmental technology. Among the applications of polymers in medicine, gene therapy has emerged as one of the most advanced, with the capability to tackle disorders from the modern era. However, there are several barriers associated with the delivery of genes in the living system that need to be mitigated by polymer engineering. One of the most crucial challenges is the effectiveness of the delivery vehicle or vector. In last few decades, non-viral delivery systems have gained attention because of their low toxicity, potential for targeted delivery, long-term stability, lack of immunogenicity, and relatively low production cost. In 1987, Felgner et al. used the cationic lipid based non-viral gene delivery system for the very first time. This breakthrough opened th...