Water-soluble fullerene (C60) derivatives as nonviral gene-delivery vectors.

ABSTRACT: A new class of water-soluble C60 transfecting agents has been prepared using Hirsch-Bingel chemistry and assessed for their ability to act as gene-delivery vectors in vitro. In an effort to elucidate the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the fullerene core, the hydrophilicity of the water-solubilizing groups, and the overall charge state of the C60 vectors in gene delivery and expression, several different C60 derivatives were synthesized to yield either positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral chemical functionalities under physiological conditions. These fullerene derivatives were then tested for their ability to transfect cells grown in culture with DNA carrying the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene. Statistically significant expression of GFP was observed

SUBMITTER: Sitharaman B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2652357 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature