Interaction of short DNA fragments with the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(ethylene imine): a dynamic light scattering study

Importance of pH in Synthesis of pH-Responsive Cationic Nano- and Microgels

While cationic microgels are potentially useful for the transfection or transformation of cells, their synthesis has certain drawbacks regarding size, polydispersity, yield, and incorporation of the cationic comonomers. In this work, a range of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels with different amounts of the primary amine N-(3-aminopropyl)methacrylamide hydrochloride (APMH) as the cationic comonomer were synthesized. Moreover, the pH-value during reaction was varied for the synthesis of microgels with 10 mol% APMH-feed. The microgels were analyzed by means of their size, thermoresponsive swelling behavior, synthesis yield, polydispersity and APMH-incorporation. The copolymerization of APMH leads to a strong decrease in size and yield of the microgels, while less than one third of the nominal APMH monomer feed is incorporated into the microgels. With an increase of the reaction pH up to 9.5, the negative effects of APMH copolymerization were significantly reduced. Above this pH, synthesis was not feasible due to aggregation. The results show that the reaction pH has a strong influence on the synthesis of pH-responsive cationic microgels and therefore it can be used to tailor the microgel properties.

Quantifying the Interactions between PEI and Double-Stranded DNA: Toward the Understanding of the Role of PEI in Gene Delivery

Poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) is one of the most efficient nonviral vectors, and its binding mode/strength with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), which is still not clear, is a core area of transfection studies. In this work we used the atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) to detect the interaction between branched PEI and dsDNA quantitatively by using a long chain DNA as a probe. Our results indicate that PEI binds to phosphoric acid skeletons of dsDNA mainly via electrostatic interactions, no obvious groove-binding or intercalation has happened. The interaction strength is about 24-25 pN, and it remains unchanged at pH 5.0 and 7.4, which correspond to the pH values in lysosomes and in the cytoplasmic matrix, respectively. However, the interaction is found to be sensitive to the ionic strength of the environment. In addition, the unbinding force shows no obvious loading rate dependence indicative of equilibrium binding/unbinding.

Effect of polyelectrolyte morphology and adsorption on the mechanism of nanocellulose flocculation

The effect of polyelectrolyte morphology, charge density, molecular weight and concentration on the adsorption and flocculation of Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC) were investigated. Linear Cationic Polyacrylamide (CPAM) and Branched Polyethylenimine (PEI) of varying charge density and molecular weight were added at different dosages to MFC suspensions. The flocculation mechanisms were quantified by measuring gel point by sedimentation, and floc size, strength and reflocculation ability through Focussed Beam Reflectance Measurements. Polymer adsorption was quantified through zeta potential and adsorption measurements using polyelectrolyte titration. The flocculation mechanism of MFC is shown to be dependent on polyelectrolyte morphology. The high molecular weight branched polymer, HPEI formed rigid bridges between the MFC fibres. HPEI had low coverage and negative zeta potential at the optimum flocculation dosage, forming flocs of high strength. After breaking of flocs, total reflocculation was achieved because the high rigidity of polymer did not allow reconformation or flattening of the polyelectrolyte adsorbed on MFC surface. The lower molecular weight branched polymer, LPEI (2kDa) showed rapid total deflocculation, complete reflocculation and had maximum flocculation occurring at the point of zero charge. These characteristics correspond to a charge neutralisation mechanism. However, if the flocculation mechanism was purely charge neutralisation mechanism, the minimum gel point would be at the point of zero charge. Since this is not the case, this difference was attributed to the high polydispersity of the commercial LPEI used, allowing some bridges to be formed by the largest molecules, changing the minimum gel point. With the linear 80% charged 4MDa CPAM, bridging mechanism dominates since maximum flocculation occurred at the minimum gel point, negative zeta potential and low coverage required for maximum flocculation. Reflocculation was not possible as the long linear polymer reconformed on the MFC surface under a flat conformation. Flocculation with the linear 50% charged 13MDa CPAM happened by bridging with the minimum gel point and maximum flocculation corresponding to roughly half polyelectrolyte surface coverage on cellulose.

Self-assembly of 33-mer gliadin peptide oligomers

The 33-mer gliadin peptide, LQLQPF(PQPQLPY)3PQPQPF, is a highly immunogenic peptide involved in celiac disease and probably in other immunopathologies associated with gliadin. Herein, dynamic light scattering measurements showed that 33-mer, in the micromolar concentration range, forms polydisperse nano- and micrometer range particles in aqueous media. This behaviour is reminiscent of classical association of colloids and we hypothesized that the 33-mer peptide self-assembles into micelles that could be the precursors of 33-mer oligomers in water. Deposition of 33-mer peptide aqueous solution on bare mica generated nano- and microstructures with different morphologies as revealed by atomic force microscopy. At 6 μM, the 33-mer is organised in isolated and clusters of spherical nanostructures. In the 60 to 250 μM concentration range, the spherical oligomers associated mainly in linear and annular arrangements and structures adopting a "sheet" type morphology appeared. At higher concentrations (610 μM), mainly filaments and plaques immersed in a background of nanospherical structures were detected. The occurrence of different morphologies of oligomers and finally the filaments suggests that the unique specific geometry of the 33-mer oligomers has a crucial role in the subsequent condensation and organization of their fractal structures into the final filaments. The self-assembly process on mica is described qualitatively and quantitatively by a fractal diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) behaviour with the fractal dimension in the range of 1.62 ± 0.02 to 1.73 ± 0.03. Secondary structure evaluation of the oligomers by Attenuated Total Reflection FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) revealed the existence of a conformational equilibrium of self-assembled structures, from an extended conformation to a more folded parallel beta elongated structures. Altogether, these findings provide structural and morphological information about supramolecular organization of the 33-mer peptide, which might offer new perspectives for the understanding and treatment of gliadin intolerance disorders.

Quantitation of Complexed versus Free Polymers in Interpolyelectrolyte Polyplex Formulations

The quantity of free polymer in a polymer/DNA complex (polyplex) formulation critically impacts its gene transfection efficiency, cellular uptake, and toxicity. In this study, the compositions of three interpolyelectrolyte polyplex formulations were quantified by a facile NMR method. Using careful integration of a 1D ¹H NMR spectrum with a broad spectral width, the quantities of unbound polymer and polyplexes in solution were determined. Linear polyethyleneimine (PEI) mixed with DNA at polymer amine to DNA phosphate molar ratio (N/P ratio) of 5 revealed an effective binding N/P ratio of 3.5 without excess free polymer. This result is in strong agreement with the stoichiometric number of PEI/DNA binding obtained by isothermal titration calorimetry. The noninvasive nature of this method allows broad application to a range of polyelectrolyte coacervates, opening new opportunities for understanding and optimizing polyelectrolyte complex formation and providing quantitation of complex formation in a single measurement.

Thermodynamics of polyethylenimine-DNA binding and DNA condensation

In this study, polyethylenimine (PEI) binding to DNA was examined by isothermal titration calorimetry. Two types of binding modes were found to describe the interactions between these polyelectrolytes in buffers and in water. One type of binding involves PEI binding to the DNA groove because the enthalpy change of this binding mode is positive, and PEI is deprotonated to bind to DNA. Another likely binding mode involves external binding of PEI to the DNA phosphate backbone, accompanied with DNA condensation. The enthalpy change is negative and PEI is protonated when it binds to DNA in this mode. The intrinsic enthalpy change of first binding mode is 1.1 kJ/mol and -0.88 kJ/mol for the second binding mode. This result implies that the PEI is rearranged from the groove to the phosphate backbone of DNA when DNA is condensed. The mechanism of DNA condensation caused by PEI is discussed in this study.

Characterization of poly(ethylene imine) layers on mica by the streaming potential and particle deposition methods

Deposition kinetics of polystyrene latex (averaged particle size of 0.66 microm) on mica covered by poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), a cationic polyelectrolyte having an average molecular mass of 75,000 g mol(-1), was studied using the impinging-jet method. The hydrodynamic radius of PEI, determined by PCS measurements, was 5.3 nm. The electrophoretic mobility of PEI was measured as a function of pH for ionic strengths of 10(-3) and 10 (-2) M, which made it possible one to determine the amount of electrokinetic charge of the molecule and its zeta potential. Formation of the polyelectrolyte layer on mica was followed by measuring the streaming potential in the parallel-plate channel. From these measurements, the dependence of the apparent zeta potential of mica on the surface coverage of PEI was determined. The amount of adsorbed PEI on mica was calculated from the convective diffusion theory. These results were quantitatively interpreted in terms of the theoretical model postulating a particle-like adsorption mechanism for PEI with not too significant shape deformation upon adsorption. On the other hand, the Gouy-Chapman model postulating the adsorption in the form of flat disks was proved inappropriate. After the surface was fully characterized, particle deposition experiments were carried out with the aim of finding the correlation between the polymer coverage and the initial rate of latex particle deposition. In the range of small polyelectrolyte coverage, a monotonic relation between the polymer coverage and the initial deposition rate of particles, as well as the jamming coverage, was found. For Theta(PEI)>0.25, the initial particle deposition rate attained the value predicted from the convective diffusion theory for homogeneous surfaces. These results were interpreted theoretically by postulating that an effective immobilization of colloid particles occurred on local polyelectrolyte assemblages containing between two and three PEI molecules.

Decorated rods: a "bottom-up" self-assembly of monomolecular DNA complexes

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and gel electrophoresis measurements are performed to investigate both the number and size of complexes of linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) fragments with 1:1 diblock copolymers consisting of a cationic moiety, branched polyethyleneimine (bPEI) of 2, 10, or 25 kDa, covalently bound to a neutral shielding moiety, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG; 20 kDa). By systematically decreasing the bPEI length, the PEG grafting density along the DNA chain can be directly controlled. For 25 and 10 kDa bPEI-PEG copolymers, severe aggregation is observed despite the presence of the shielding PEG. Upon decreasing the bPEI length to 2 kDa, controlled self-assembly of monomolecular DNA nanoparticles is observed. The resulting complexes are in quantitative agreement with a theoretical model based on a single DNA encased in a dense PEG polymer brush layer. The resulting PEGylated complexes show high stability against both salt and protein and hence are of potential use for in vivo gene delivery studies.

Dynamic Light Scattering and Fluorescence Study of the Interaction between Double-Stranded DNA and Poly(amido amine) Dendrimers

The interaction between a cationic poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimer of generation 4 and double-stranded salmon sperm DNA in 10 mM NaBr solution has been investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. The structural parameters of the formed aggregates as well as the complex formation process were studied in dilute solutions. When DNA is mixed with PAMAM dendrimers, it undergoes a transition from a semiflexible coil to a more compact conformation due to the electrostatic interaction present between the cationic dendrimer and the anionic polyelectrolyte. The DLS results reveal that one salmon sperm DNA molecule forms a discrete aggregate in dilute solution with several PAMAM dendrimers with a mean apparent hydrodynamic radius of 50 nm. These discrete complexes coexist with free DNA at low molar ratios of dendrimer to DNA, which shows that cooperativity is present in the complex formation. The formation of the complexes was confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis measurements. DNA in the complexes was also found to be significantly more protected against DNase catalyzed digestion compared to free DNA. The number of dendrimers per DNA chain in the complexes was found to be approximately 35 as determined by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy.

Polyplex-mediated gene transfer and cell cycle: effect of carrier on cellular uptake and intracellular kinetics, and significance of glycosaminoglycans

BACKGROUND

Here we report on studies that probe whether the intracellular kinetics of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and cell surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are modified during the cell cycle in a way that can be correlated with changes in gene transfer efficiency with poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and poly-L-lysine (PLL) polyplexes.

METHODS

Synchronized D407 retinal cells were transfected with PEI and PLL polyplexes using a luciferase reporter. The free and/or loosely complexed nuclear pDNA was determined by real-time PCR, and compared with transgene expression, the rate of pinocytosis by FITC-dextran uptake and the content of cell surface GAGs.

RESULTS

The amount of free and/or loosely complexed nuclear pDNA between cell cycle phases varied approximately 4-20 times (G1 < S < G2/M). Both carriers delivered pDNA in a similar way into the nucleus (PLL vs. PEI < or = 3.5-fold), but PEI was approximately 10-100 times more efficient in gene expression than PLL (G1 < G2/M < S). The rate of pinocytosis increased up to 70-fold from G1 to middle S phase. Cell surface heparan and chondroitin sulfate increased 50-80%, and hyaluronan decreased 50% when the cells went from G1 through S to G2/M.

CONCLUSIONS

The data obtained indicates that no single parameter (pinocytosis, cell surface GAGs, nuclear uptake) solely accounts for the differential pDNA uptake or expression during cell cycle, and that the main difference in PLL- and PEI-mediated transfections seems to be at the nuclear level.

Controlled association in suspensions of charged nanoparticles with a weak polyelectrolyte

The properties of high-pH suspensions of mixtures of silica with low-molecular-weight samples of the water-soluble polymer polyethylenimine (PEI) have been studied. At pH > 10 and low ionic strength, silica nanoparticles are stabilized by a negative surface charge, and PEI has only a very low positive charge. The adsorption of PEI induces a localized positive charge on the segments of polymer closest to the silica surface. The parts of the molecule furthest away from the surface have little charge because of the high pH of the medium. The polymer-covered particle remains negatively charged, imparting some electrostatic stabilization. Suspensions of silica and low-molecular-weight PEI are low-viscosity fluids immediately after mixing, but aggregation occurs leading to the eventual gelation (or sedimentation at lower concentrations) of these mixtures, indicating colloidal instability. The gelation time passes through a minimum with increasing surface coverage. The rate of gelation increases exponentially with molecular weight: for molecular weight > or = 10,000 Da PEI, the instability is so severe that uniform suspensions cannot be produced using simple mixing techniques. The gelation rates increase rapidly with temperature, ionic strength, and reduction in pH. The rate of gelation increases with increasing particle concentration at low surface coverage but decreases at high coverage as a consequence of a small increase in pH. Gels are broken by application of high shear into aggregates that re-gel more rapidly than the original discrete coated particles.

The interaction of poly(ethylenimine) with nucleic acids and its use in determination of nucleic acids based on light scattering

For the first time, poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) was used to determine nucleic acids with a light scattering technique using a common spectrofluorometer. The interaction of PEI with DNA results in greatly enhanced intensity of light scattering at 300 nm, which is caused by the formation of the big particles between DNA and PEI. Based on this, a new quantitative method for nucleic acid determination in aqueous solutions has been developed. Under the optimum conditions, the enhanced intensity of light scattering is proportional to the concentration of nucleic acid in the range of 0.01-10.0 microg ml(-1) for herring sperm DNA (hsDNA), 0.02-10.0 microg ml(-1) for calf thymus DNA (ctDNA), 0.02-20.0 microg ml(-1) for yeast RNA (yRNA). The detection limits are 5.3, 9.9, and 13.7 ng ml(-1), respectively. Synthetic samples were determined satisfactorily. At the same time, the light scattering technique has been successfully used to obtain the information on the effects of pH and ionic strength on the formation and the stability of the DNA/PEI complex, which is important in some fields such as genetic engineering and gene transfer. Using ethidium bromide (EB) as a fluorescent probe, the binding of PEI with hsDNA was studied. Both the binding constant of EB with DNA and the number of binding sites per nucleotide decrease with increasing concentration of PEI, indicating noncompetitive inhibition of EB binding to DNA in the presence of PEI. And the association constant of PEI to DNA obtained is 1.2 x 10(5) M(-1). IR-spectra show that PEI interacts with DNA through both the phosphate groups and the bases of DNA and the formation of DNA/PEI complex may cause the change of the conformation of the DNA secondary structure, which is also proved by UV-spectra.

Monitoring of the formation and dissociation of polyethylenimine/DNA complexes by two photon fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Polyethylenimines (PEI) constitute efficient nonviral vectors for gene transfer. However, because free PEI shows some cytotoxicity and because intracellular dissociation of PEI/DNA complexes seems to be required for efficient transfection, it is important to monitor the concentrations of free and bound partners in the mixtures of DNA and PEI used for transfection. To reach this objective, we used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with two-photon excitation to characterize the complexes formed with either rhodamine-labeled 25 kDa PEI or DNA plasmid molecules. At the molar ratios of PEI nitrogen atoms to DNA phosphate usually used for transfection, we found that approximately 86% of the PEI molecules were in a free form. The PEI/DNA complexes are composed on the average by 3.5 (+/-1) DNA plasmids and approximately 30 PEI molecules. From this composition and the pK(a) of PEI, it could be inferred that in contrast to DNA condensation by small multivalent cations, only a limited neutralization of the DNA phosphate groups is required for DNA condensation by PEI. Moreover, DNA appears only poorly compacted in the PEI/DNA complexes. As an application, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was used to monitor the purification of PEI/DNA complexes by ultrafiltration as well as the heparin-induced dissociation of the complexes.

Polymer functionalized submicrometric emulsions as potential synthetic DNA vectors

Triglyceride-based emulsions were first prepared by a solvent displacement procedure which was modified to achieve their functionalization by surface deposition of various amphiphilic comb-like copolymers. These emulsions have been characterized as regards to hydrodynamic particle size and surface charges using dynamic light scattering and electrophoretic mobility measurements. The adsorption isotherms of a polydT15 oligonucleotide and a model plasmid showed that the process was dependent on the nature of the interfaces, the affinity for the nucleic acid increasing with more cationic charges, together with improved accessibility. The binding process was found to proceed according to two regimes: one at low nucleic acid coverage, independent of the initial plasmid concentration, and the second one at high coverage, which was nucleic-acid-concentration dependent. This behavior was considered to occur because of the development of repulsive interactions upon increasing the amount of immobilized nucleic acid. The complexation of plasmid complexed at the interface was finally investigated using the ethidium bromide displacement technique. The level of compaction of plasmid complexed onto the functionalized emulsions was lower than that obtained with the parent free polymer.

pH-sensitive nanoparticles of poly(amino acid) dodecanoate complexes

Nanoparticles were formed by the complexation of poly(L-arginine) (PLA), poly(L-histidine) (PLH) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) with dodecanoic acid (C12). Dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurements, atomic force microscopy, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopy were used for their characterization. It was found that the diameters of the poly(L-arginine) dodecanoate (PLA-C12), poly(L-histidine) dodecanoate (PLH-C12), and poly(L-lysine) dodecanoate (PLL-C12) complex nanoparticles were in the range 120-200 nm. Furthermore, the pH-sensitive dissolution and the surface charges can be adjusted by choosing PLA, PLH and PLL. The particle stability against basic pH values increases with increasing pK(a) value of the poly(amino acid) in the series PLH-C12, PLL-C12 and PLA-C12. The particles as such show a core-shell morphology. Their cores are formed by stoichiometric poly(amino acid) dodecanoate complexes while the shells stabilizing the particles are formed by cationic poly(amino acid) chains in an uncomplexed state. The particles were tested as containers for hydrophobic molecules such as pyrene, which served as a fluorescence probe for measuring the polarity within the particles, and Q(10) which functioned as a model drug. The maximum uptake of Q(10) into the nanoparticles is about 13% (w/w), thereby making the complexes attractive as simple drug carriers for controlled release purposes. Circular dichroism measurements revealed that the poly(amino acid) chains of PLA-C12 and PLL-C12 adopt predominantly an alpha-helix and that of PLH-C12 a beta-sheet.