![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
Abstract
Poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) has recently emerged as a favorable candidate for nucleic acid (NA) delivery because of its good effectivity at low cost. Despite copious derivatives and formulations being explored over the years, there is a scarcity of efforts to systematically review the current status and unmet needs of related research. The objective of this article is to fill this gap by revisiting the recent advances and challenges in in vivo NA delivery mediated by PEI. For this, related literature was retrieved from PubMed and Web of Science, and among the 530 articles yielded, 49 recent in vivo studies were selected for further analysis. Based on the distillation of literature, implications for research will be drawn and prospects of PEI-mediated NA delivery for stem cell- and RNA-based therapies will be explored. It is hoped that this article could add a new insight to the field and to clinical endeavors in the future.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Yau-Foon Tsui for her support, and to Zenobia CY Chan for guidance and inspiration. Thanks are extended to the editor, Sean Fitzpatrick, for granting the opportunity to proceed with this work, and to the three anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on the manuscript.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.