Abstract
Background
The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo characteristics of a new tumor-targeted nanosized delivery carrier for antisense oligonucleotide (ASON).
Methods
Polyethylenimine (PEI) was used to condense ASON to form nanosized complexes (PEI/ASON), which were then modified using asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) peptide to obtain a tumor-targeted nanosized delivery carrier (NGR/PEI/ASON). The conditions required to form PEI/ASON were investigated.
Results
A linear correlation between the natural logarithm of the N/P ratio (PEI to ASON) and the zeta potential of the PEI/ASON complexes was found, ranging from 1.5 to 5.0. The pH of the solution strongly influenced the zeta potential of the PEI/ASON complexes. PEI/ASON and NGR/PEI/ASON were stable in RPMI-1640 culture medium in the presence of Dextran 70. Incorporation of ASON into PEI/ASON and NGR/PEI/ASON complexes prevented degradation of ASON by DNase I.
Conclusion
Both ASON/PEI and NGR/PEI/ASON complexes enhanced the uptake of ASON by EC9706 cells in vitro. In vivo, NGR/PEI/ASON complexes had the ability to target tumor tissues effectively.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported financially by the Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.