Modulation of Polyplex Release from Biodegradable Microparticles through Poly(ethylenimine) Modification and Varying Loading Concentration

Biomaterial-based delivery systems of nucleic acid for regenerative research and regenerative therapy

Regenerative medicine is a new and promising medical method aiming at treating patients with defective or dysfunctional tissues by maintaining or enhancing the biological activity of cells. The development of biomaterial-based technologies, such as cell scaffolds and carriers for drug delivery system, are highly required to promote the regenerative research and regenerative therapy. Nucleic acids are one of the most feasible factors to efficiently modify the biological activity of cells. The effective and stable delivery of nucleic acids into cells is highly required to succeed in the modification. Biomaterials-based non-viral carriers or biological carriers, like exosomes, play an important role in the efficient delivery of nucleic acids. This review introduces the examples of regenerative research and regenerative therapy based on the delivery of nucleic acids with biomaterials technologies and emphasizes their importance to accomplish regenerative medicine.

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Modifying the activity of cells is important for regenerative medicine.

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Various nucleic acids regulate gene expression to modify the activity of cells.

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Intracellular delivery system is vital to the nucleic acids-based modification.

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Biomaterials are useful for the intracellular delivery of nucleic acids.

Hyaluronic acid for anticancer drug and nucleic acid delivery

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is widely used in anticancer drug delivery, since it is biocompatible, biodegradable, non-toxic, and non-immunogenic; moreover, HA receptors are overexpressed on many tumor cells. Exploiting this ligand-receptor interaction, the use of HA is now a rapidly-growing platform for targeting CD44-overexpressing cells, to improve anticancer therapies. The rationale underlying approaches, chemical strategies, and recent advances in the use of HA to design drug carriers for delivering anticancer agents, are reviewed. Comprehensive descriptions are given of HA-based drug conjugates, particulate carriers (micelles, liposomes, nanoparticles, microparticles), inorganic nanostructures, and hydrogels, with particular emphasis on reports of preclinical/clinical results.