Ponente
Descripción
Vesicles comprised of cationic lipids emerges as one of the most promising alternatives for nucleic acid delivery systems, offering security and facilitating the entry of these molecules into the target cell [1]. A particular group of cationic lipid vesicles named Quatsomes (QS) and constituted by cholesterol and the quaternary ammonium surfactants: cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (MKC), exhibit great homogeneity in size, lamellarity and membrane supramolecular organization, high stability [2], and a successful scale-up production [3, 4]. In the present work, the ability of the QS, formed by both CTAB (qCTAB) and MKC (qMKC), to interact with tdTomatoe-C1 plasmid DNA (pDNA) was evaluated using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). These complexes obtained presented a suitable hydrodynamic radius determined by DLS, to be used as transfection systems at nitrogen/phosphorus ratios of 10 or higher [5]. The qCTAB /DNA complexes were less cytotoxic than those composed of qMKC in the HEK293T cell line, while offering nuclease protection to pDNA. The qCTAB/pDNA complexes were efficiently internalized by the HEK293T cell line and were able of transfecting these cells in vitro. Due to the low interaction of the mutant of the pore-forming protein StI (StIW111C) with the QS, the conjugate of StIW111C with polyionic peptides was obtained and its interaction with qCTABs was explored with the purpose to enhance of transfection efficacy for pDNA by QS. The qCTAB/pDNA complexes exhibit properties that could promote them as good candidates for transfection in vitro and in vivo.
