Protein Nanospheres for Gene Delivery
Adapted from “Protein Nanospheres for Gene Delivery: Preparation and In Vitro Transfection Studies with Gelatin Nanoparticles,” Chapter 52, in Gene Transfer: Delivery and Expression of DNA and RNA (eds. Friedmann and Rossi). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2007.INTRODUCTION
Nanoparticles have been widely used to overcome the barriers for drug delivery. Those prepared from natural polymers have a significant advantage over others prepared from synthetic polymers. This article outlines the advantages of gelatin for the preparation of nanoparticles and a method for preparing them. The uses of nanoparticles are also discussed. Cell trafficking can be studied using nanoparticles encapsulated with electron-dense material (e.g., gold); such particles are then visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). DNA-encapsulated nanoparticles can be used for transfection and other methods of gene delivery. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of transfection studies is outlined briefly.
