Carbosilane dendrimers as carriers of siRNA

siRNAs and viruses: The good, the bad and the way forward

There are no available antivirals for many viruses or strains, while current antivirals are limited by toxicity and drug resistance. Therefore, alternative strategies, such as RNA interference (RNAi) are required. RNAi suppresses gene expression of any mRNA, making it an attractive candidate for antiviral therapeutics. Studies have evaluated siRNAs in a range of viruses, with some showing promising results. However, issues with stability and delivery of siRNAs remain. These may be minimized by modifying the siRNA structure, using an efficient delivery vector and targeting multiple regions of a virus's genome in a single dose. Finding these solutions could accelerate the progress of RNAi-based antivirals. This review highlights selected examples of antiviral siRNAs, limitations of RNAi and strategies to overcome these limitations.

Cationic Dendrimers for siRNA Delivery: An Overview of Methods for In Vitro/In Vivo Characterization

This chapter reviews the different techniques for analyzing the chemical-physical properties, transfection efficiency, cytotoxicity, and stability of covalent cationic dendrimers (CCDs) and self-assembled cationic dendrons (ACDs) for siRNA delivery in the presence and absence of their nucleic cargos. On the basis of the reported examples, a standard essential set of techniques is described for each step of a siRNA/nanovector (NV) complex characterization process: (1) analysis of the basic chemical-physical properties of the NV per se; (2) characterization of the morphology, size, strength, and stability of the siRNA/NV ensemble; (3) characterization and quantification of the cellular uptake and release of the siRNA fragment; (4) in vitro and (5) in vivo experiments for the evaluation of the corresponding gene silencing activity; and (6) assessment of the intrinsic toxicity of the NV and the siRNA/NV complex.

Nanosystems as Vehicles for the Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)

Recently, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also called host defence peptides (HDPs), are attracting great interest, as they are a highly viable alternative in the search of new approaches to the resistance presented by bacteria against antibiotics in infectious diseases. However, due to their nature, they present a series of disadvantages such as low bioavailability, easy degradability by proteases, or low solubility, among others, which limits their use as antimicrobial agents. For all these reasons, the use of vehicles for the delivery of AMPs, such as polymers, nanoparticles, micelles, carbon nanotubes, dendrimers, and other types of systems, allows the use of AMPs as a real alternative to treatment with antibiotics.

Anticancer Activity of Dendriplexes against Advanced Prostate Cancer from Protumoral Peptides and Cationic Carbosilane Dendrimers

The interaction of neuropeptides, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), or growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), with a cationic carbosilane dendrimer forms dendriplexes with antitumoral behavior in advanced prostate cancer cells PC3. At the concentrations used for dendriplexes formation, the free peptides were protumoral and prometastatic in advanced prostate cancer, while dendrimer only showed low cytotoxicity, but did not avoid the metastatic behavior of PC3 cells. However, these nanoplexes favored also cell adhesion and avoided cell migration. Also, the dendriplexes were not toxic for no tumoral prostate cells (RPWE-1) or fibroblasts. The use of labeled GHRH peptide (rhodamine labeled) and a dendrimer (fluorescein labeled) allowed us to observe that both systems reach the intracellular milieu after dendriplex formation. The treatment of PC3 cells with the nanoplexes reduced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Molecular modeling analysis highlights the important contribution of the carbosilane framework in the stabilization of the dendriplex, since dendrimer interacts with a peptide region where hydrophobic amino acids are presented.

Gold nanoparticles stabilized by cationic carbosilane dendrons: synthesis and biological properties

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and polycationic macromolecules are used as gene carriers. Their behaviour is dependent on several factors, such as the size and type of the framework, charge, etc. We have combined both types of systems and prepared AuNPs covered with cationic carbosilane dendrons with the aim to evaluate their biocompatibility. Water soluble dendronized cationic AuNPs were prepared following a straightforward procedure from dendrons, a gold precursor and a reducing agent in water and were characterized by ¹H NMR, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), and zeta potential (ZP). The biological properties of dendrons and AuNPs were determined by hemolysis, platelet aggregation and lymphocyte proliferation. These assays reflect modification of dendron properties when covering nanoparticles. For dendrons, hemolysis and platelet aggregation are generation dependent whilst, for AuNPs these properties are related to the bigger size of NPs. On the other hand, none of the systems induced lymphocyte proliferation. Selected cationic dendrons and AuNPs were chosen for gene delivery experiments employing a small interference RNA (siRNA Nef) against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial behavior of water-soluble carbosilane dendrons containing ferrocene at the focal point

A series of novel water-soluble ammonium-terminated carbosilane dendrons containing a ferrocene unit at the focal point were synthesized, in order to combine the unique redox activity of ferrocene and the precisely designed structure of the dendrons with the aim to evaluate them as a new class of potential organometallic-based antibacterial compounds. The synthetic route is based on the initial amination of ferrocenecarboxaldehyde with carbosilane dendrons that contain allyl groups on the surface followed by reduction of the in situ prepared imine product, and the subsequent functionalization of the periphery with terminal amine groups by hydrosilylation reactions. Systems quaternized with HCl are soluble and stable in water or other protic solvents. The obtained compounds were spectrally and electrochemically (cyclic voltammetry) characterized, and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy experiments were conducted to determine the size of the dendritic wedges in solution. The antibacterial activity of these compounds was evaluated using Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), which shows that the first and second generations of cationic dendrons are broad spectrum antibacterial agents, i.e. selective and effective in both bacterial strains.

Carbosilane dendrimers inhibit α-synuclein fibrillation and prevent cells from rotenone-induced damage

This study investigates the role of carbosilane dendrimers in fibrillation of α-synuclein and prevention of the mouse hippocampal cell (mHippoE-18) from rotenone-induced damage. Examining the interaction between carbosilane dendrimers and α-synuclein, we found that the dendrimers inhibit fibril formation. We also investigated cell viability, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential. mHippoE-18 cells were preincubated with carbosilane dendrimers before rotenone was added. All the dendrimers possess potential protection activity. Preincubation with dendrimers contributed to: increased viability, higher mitochondrial membrane potential, and reduced ROS level in cells. The probable mechanism of cell protection lies in the ability of dendrimers to capture rotenone by encapsulating or binding to its surface groups. The fact that dendrimers have prevention potential is important in the search for new pharmacological strategies against neurodegenerative disorders.

Dendrimers as carriers for siRNA delivery and gene silencing: a review

RNA interference (RNAi) was first literaturally reported in 1998 and has become rapidly a promising tool for therapeutic applications in gene therapy. In a typical RNAi process, small interfering RNAs (siRNA) are used to specifically downregulate the expression of the targeted gene, known as the term "gene silencing." One key point for successful gene silencing is to employ a safe and efficient siRNA delivery system. In this context, dendrimers are emerging as potential nonviral vectors to deliver siRNA for RNAi purpose. Dendrimers have attracted intense interest since their emanating research in the 1980s and are extensively studied as efficient DNA delivery vectors in gene transfer applications, due to their unique features based on the well-defined and multivalent structures. Knowing that DNA and RNA possess a similar structure in terms of nucleic acid framework and the electronegative nature, one can also use the excellent DNA delivery properties of dendrimers to develop effective siRNA delivery systems. In this review, the development of dendrimer-based siRNA delivery vectors is summarized, focusing on the vector features (siRNA delivery efficiency, cytotoxicity, etc.) of different types of dendrimers and the related investigations on structure-activity relationship to promote safe and efficient siRNA delivery system.