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Organic electronic materials for gene delivery

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter

Published
Publication date13/01/2016
Host publicationEngineering of nanobiomaterials: Applications of nanobiomaterials
EditorsAlexandru Grumezescu
PublisherElsevier
Pages119-144
Number of pages26
ISBN (electronic)9780323417341
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Gene therapy has the potential to treat various diseases by altering levels of protein expression, or correcting genetic mutations. A prerequisite of effective gene is the delivery of polynucleic acids (e.g., DNA, RNA) to a patient’s cells which can be achieved by a variety of means, including technological (e.g., electroporation), viruses (which are nature’s gene delivery vectors) or non-viral vectors (e.g., lipids, nanoparticles, polymers). The focus of this chapter is the use of organic electronic materials (i.e., fullerenes, graphenes and conjugated polymers) as non-viral gene delivery vectors and their potential for application as novel theranostic devices. These represent an exciting new class of non-viral vectors that are at the frontier of novel approaches towards gene therapy.