Basak Acan Clements

What else can engineers do with polymers?: Gene delivery to bone cells by polymer/DNA complexes

Gene delivery to bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) has been primarily achieved by using viral carriers, but oncogenic and immunogenicity-related problems still exist. Non-viral gene delivery to BMSC can eliminate these virus-related problems. Polymers are safe alternatives to viral-based delivery vehicles, since they do not integrate into the cellular genome. They are easier to manufacture and have large DNA carrying capacities. The positively-charged polymers can interact electrostatically with negatively-charged DNA molecules and facilitate passage of DNA through cell membrane. The objective of the current study is to demonstrate the BMSC transfection efficiency of a new polymeric gene carrier, poly-L-Lysine-Palmitic Acid (PLL-PA) conjugate, by using a model plasmid that expresses Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (pEGFP). We hypothesized that Palmitic Acid (PA) conjugation could enhance the gene delivery capacity of the cationic polymer PLL due to increased membrane interactions created by the lipophilic PA and we demonstrated the promising transfection ability of PLL-PA as a gene delivery agent.

Basak Acan Clements is doing her PhD in Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Hasan Uludag.