Abstract
Purpose: Understanding mechanisms of cellular uptake and intracellular release would enable better design of nanocarriers for delivery of nucleic acids such as siRNA and microRNA (miRNA).
Method: In this study, we investigated cellular pharmacokinetics of siRNA by co-encapsulating fluorescently labeled siRNA and molecular beacon (MB) in four different formulations of cationic lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). A miRNA mimic was also used as a probe for investigating cellular pharmacokinetics, which correlated well with RNAi activities.
Results: We tried to find the best LNP formulation based on the combination of DOTMA and DODMA. When the DOTMA/DODMA ratio was at 5/40, the LNP containing a luciferase siRNA produced the highest gene silencing activity. The superior potency of DOTMA/DODMA could be attributed to higher uptake and improved ability to facilitate siRNA release from endosomes subsequent to uptake.
Conclusions: Our findings may provide new insights into RNAi transfection pathways and have implications on cationic LNP design.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2685-2695 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Pharmaceutical Research |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 17 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- intracellular trafficking
- lipid nanoparticles
- miRNA
- molecular beacon
- siRNA
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Molecular Medicine
- Pharmacology
- Pharmaceutical Science
- Organic Chemistry
- Pharmacology (medical)