Synthesis of poly(propylene glycol)-block-polyethylenimine triblock copolymers for the delivery of nucleic acids

Linear ABC amphiphilic triblock copolymers for complexation and protection of dsRNA

We herein report the synthesis and characterisation of linear ABC triblock copolymers, investigation of their self-assembly in aqueous solution, and complexation with and protection of double stranded-RNA (dsRNA).

PEI fluorination reduces toxicity and promotes liver-targeted siRNA delivery

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) has been extensively investigated as an efficient carrier for nucleic acid delivery. Yet, it suffers from a high toxicity profile that hinders clinical translation. Fluorination has proven to be a valid approach to reduce the cytotoxicity of PEI and improve the in vitro siRNA delivery potency. Hydrophobicity and lipophobicity can be controllably introduced into the side chains of PEI. However, the effect of fluorination on siRNA delivery in vivo, particularly the biodistribution of siRNA polyplex nanoparticles with fluorinated PEIs, has not been extensively explored. Here, we introduce two series of fluorinated PEIs via amidation with ethyl trifluoroacetate and perfluorobutyryl chloride. Fluorination substantially improved the performance of PEI for siRNA delivery by reducing the cytotoxicity to MDA-MB-231 cells. Importantly, fluorinated PEI enabled the major accumulation of siRNA polyplex nanoparticles in the liver while non-fluorinated PEI delivered siRNA nanoparticles mainly to the lungs after intravenous administration to mice. It is envisioned that fluorination may be an important general strategy for lowering toxicity of cationic polymers, and that the fluorination-induced alteration of biodistribution may be applicable for improved delivery to different organs. Graphical abstract.

Strategies, design, and chemistry in siRNA delivery systems

Emerging therapeutics that utilize RNA interference (RNAi) have the potential to treat broad classes of diseases due to their ability to reversibly silence target genes. In August 2018, the FDA approved the first siRNA therapeutic, called ONPATTRO™ (Patisiran), for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis. This was an important milestone for the field of siRNA delivery that opens the door for additional siRNA drugs. Currently, >20 small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based therapies are in clinical trials for a wide variety of diseases including cancers, genetic disorders, and viral infections. To maximize therapeutic benefits of siRNA-based drugs, a number of chemical strategies have been applied to address issues associated with efficacy, specificity, and safety. This review focuses on the chemical perspectives behind non-viral siRNA delivery systems, including siRNA synthesis, siRNA conjugates, and nanoparticle delivery using nucleotides, lipids, and polymers. Tracing and understanding the chemical development of strategies to make siRNAs into drugs is important to guide development of additional clinical candidates and enable prolonged success of siRNA therapeutics.

Cationic Mucic Acid Polymer-Based siRNA Delivery Systems

Nanoparticle (NP) delivery systems for small interfering RNA (siRNA) that have good systemic circulation and high nucleic acid content are highly desired for translation into clinical use. Here, a family of cationic mucic acid-containing polymers is synthesized and shown to assemble with siRNA to form NPs. A cationic mucic acid polymer (cMAP) containing alternating mucic acid and charged monomers is synthesized. When combined with siRNA, cMAP forms NPs that require steric stabilization by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) that is attached to the NP surface via a 5-nitrophenylboronic acid linkage (5-nitrophenylboronic acid-PEGm (5-nPBA-PEGm)) to diols on mucic acid in the cMAP in order to inhibit aggregation in biological fluids. As an alternative, cMAP is covalently conjugated with PEG via two methods. First, a copolymer is prepared with alternating cMAP-PEG units that can form loops of PEG on the surface of the formulated siRNA-containing NPs. Second, an mPEG-cMAP-PEGm triblock polymer is synthesized that could lead to a PEG brush configuration on the surface of the formulated siRNA-containing NPs. The copolymer and triblock polymer are able to form stable siRNA-containing NPs without and with the addition of 5-nPBA-PEGm. Five formulations, (i) cMAP with 5-nPBA-PEGm, (ii) cMAP-PEG copolymer both (a) with and (b) without 5-nPBA-PEGm, and (iii) mPEG-cMAP-PEGm triblock polymer both (a) with and (b) without 5-nPBA-PEGm, are used to produce NPs in the 30-40 nm size range, and their circulation times are evaluated in mice using tail vein injections. The mPEG-cMAP-PEGm triblock polymer provides the siRNA-containing NP with the longest circulation time (5-10% of the formulation remains in circulation at 60 min postdosing), even when a portion of the excess cationic components used in the formulation is filtered away prior to injection. A NP formulation using the mPEG-cMAP-PEGm triblock polymer that is free of excess components could contain as much as ca. 30 wt % siRNA.

Screening nylon-3 polymers, a new class of cationic amphiphiles, for siRNA delivery

Amphiphilic nucleic acid carriers have attracted strong interest. Three groups of nylon-3 copolymers (poly-β-peptides) possessing different cationic/hydrophobic content were evaluated as siRNA delivery agents in this study. Their ability to condense siRNA was determined in SYBR Gold assays. Their cytotoxicity was tested by MTT assays, their efficiency of delivering Alexa Fluor-488-labeled siRNA intracellularly in the presence and absence of uptake inhibitors was assessed by flow cytometry, and their transfection efficacies were studied by luciferase knockdown in a cell line stably expressing luciferase (H1299/Luc). Endosomal release was determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy and colocalization with lysotracker. All polymers efficiently condensed siRNA at nitrogen-to-phosphate (N/P) ratios of 5 or lower, as reflected in hydrodynamic diameters smaller than that at N/P 1. Although several formulations had negative zeta potentials at N/P 1, G2C and G2D polyplexes yielded >80% uptake in H1299/Luc cells, as determined by flow cytometry. Luciferase knockdown (20–65%) was observed after transfection with polyplexes made of the high molecular weight polymers that were the most hydrophobic. The ability of nylon-3 polymers to deliver siRNA intracellularly even at negative zeta potential implies that they mediate transport across cell membranes based on their amphiphilicity. The cellular uptake route was determined to strongly depend on the presence of cholesterol in the cell membrane. These polymers are, therefore, very promising for siRNA delivery at reduced surface charge and toxicity. Our study identified nylon-3 formulations at low N/P ratios for effective gene knockdown, indicating that nylon-3 polymers are a new, promising type of gene delivery agent.

Therapeutic plasmid DNA versus siRNA delivery: common and different tasks for synthetic carriers

Gene therapy offers great opportunities for the treatment of severe diseases including cancer. In recent years the design of synthetic carriers for nucleic acid delivery has become a research field of increasing interest. Studies on the delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA) have brought up a variety of gene delivery vehicles. The more recently emerged gene silencing strategy by the intracellular delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) takes benefit from existing expertise in pDNA transfer. Despite common properties however, delivery of siRNA also faces distinct challenges due to apparent differences in size, stability of the formed nucleic acid complexes, the location and mechanism of action. This review emphasizes the common aspects and main differences between pDNA and siRNA delivery, taking into consideration a wide spectrum of polymer-based, lipidic and peptide carriers. Challenges and opportunities which result from these differences as well as the recent progress made in the optimization of carrier design are presented.