Polyethyleneimine-capped silver nanoclusters for microRNA oligonucleotide delivery and bacterial inhibition.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Du, Chunyuan Yan, Haibo Liang, Jichao Luo, Ailing Wang, Lingqian Zhu, Jing Xiong, Huayu Chen, Yong
Copyright Year	2017
Abstract	Efficient and safe nonviral gene delivery systems are a prerequisite for the clinical application of therapeutic genes. In this paper, polyethyleneimine-capped silver nanoclusters (PEI-AgNCs) were prepared for the purpose of microRNA (miRNA) delivery. The resultant PEI-AgNCs were characterized by a photoluminescence assay and transmission electron microscopy. A cytotoxicity assay showed that PEI-AgNCs exhibit relatively low cytotoxicity. Interestingly, PEI-AgNCs were confirmed to transfect miRNA mimics more effectively than PEI in HepG2 and 293A cells. In this regard, hsa-miR-21 or hsa-miR-221 mimics (miR-21/221m) were transported into HepG2 cells by using PEI-AgNCs. The miR-21/221 expression was determined post-transfection by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the negative control, PEI-AgNCs/miR-21/221m groups exhibited higher miR-21/221 levels. In addition, AgNCs endow PEI with stronger antibacterial activity, and this advantage provided PEI-AgNCs the potential to prevent bacterial contamination during the transfection process. Furthermore, we showed that PEI-AgNCs are viable nanomaterials for plain imaging of the cells by laser scanning confocal microscopy, indicating great potential as an ideal fluorescent probe to track the transfection behavior. These results demonstrated that PEI-AgNCs are promising and novel nonviral vectors for gene delivery.
ISSN	11769114
Journal	International Journal of Nanomedicine
Volume Number	12
PubMed Central reference number	PMC5716333
PubMed reference number	29238194
e-ISSN	11782013
DOI	10.2147/ijn.s146968
Language	English
Publisher	Dove Medical Press
Publisher Date	2017-12-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. © 2017 Du et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited
Subject Keyword	gene delivery silver nanoclusters polyethylenimine cell imaging antibacterial activity
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Organic Chemistry Drug Discovery Medicine Biomaterials Biophysics Bioengineering Pharmaceutical Science