POLY 324 |
| Efficient delivery of antisense oligonucleotides, AON, presents many of the same challenges as delivery of DNA and many drugs: charge, stability, cell uptake, endolysosomal escape, and entry into the nucleus. Here we demonstrate efficient delivery of AON after loading into bio-degradable polymer vesicles or ‘polymersomes'. We focus on AON delivery to muscle cells in vitro and in vivo because of the emergence of AON in therapeutic strategies directed at muscular dystrophies. To first clarify uptake kinetics without the complications of typical multi-layered myotube cultures, we use micro-patterned muscle cells and demonstrate highly efficient uptake of AON-polymersomes. The bio-degradable polymersomes break down and foster AON escape with the binding of fluorescent-AON into the nuclear spliceosomes. Intramuscular injections of the Polymersome-AON into the hind-limbs of mdx-dystrophic mice show more efficient nuclear uptake than AON alone and also lead to dystrophin expression throughout the injected muscle in the mdx mice. Distribution and efficiency of delivery appear far superior to injection of free AON In sum, these neutral, degradable carriers of AON show promise in vivo. |
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7th International Biorelated Polymers Symposium
8:30 AM-12:10 PM, Tuesday, 12 September 2006 San Francisco Marriott -- Salon 14/15, Oral
Division of Polymer Chemistry |