Abstract
Bacterial transformation and gene transfection can be understood as being the results of introducing specific genetic material into cells, resulting in gene expression, and adding a new genetic trait to the host cell. Many studies have been carried out to investigate different types of lipids and cationic polymers as promising nonviral vectors for DNA transfer. The present study aimed to carry out a systematic review on the use of biopolymeric materials as nonviral vectors. The methodology was carried out based on searches of scientific articles and applications for patents published or deposited from 2006 to 2020 in different databases for patents (EPO, USPTO, and INPI) and articles (Scopus, Web of Science, and Scielo). The results showed that there are some deposits of patents regarding the use of chitosan as a gene carrier. The 16 analyzed articles allowed us to infer that the use of biopolymers as nonviral vectors is limited due to the low diversity of biopolymers used for these purposes. It was also observed that the use of different materials as nonviral vectors is based on chemical structure modifications of the material, mainly by the addition of cationic groups. Thus, the use of biopolymers as nonviral vectors is still limited to only a few polysaccharide types, emphasizing the need for further studies involving the use of different biopolymers in processes of gene transfer.
Highlights
Gene therapy can be defined as treating human disease by transferring genetic material through a vector into specific patient cells
From the results presented in the graphic, it is possible to observe that using different materials as nonviral vectors is a new area and has been increasingly studied since 2015 according to the number of publications on the content
The analysis of the chosen articles (Table 2) allows us to identify that the principle of using different materials as nonviral vectors for the transfer of genes into target cells consists of modifying the chemical structure of the material, mainly the addition of cationic groups
Summary
Gene therapy can be defined as treating human disease by transferring genetic material through a vector into specific patient cells. Advances in molecular biology and biotechnology, as well as the conclusion of the Human Genome Project have led to the identification of numerous disease-causing genes. The main limiting factor of gene therapy is the rate of gene transfection. The difficulty of inserting new genes in the cells of intact organisms so that these molecules are incorporated by the cells and can perform their functions efficiently. For some small animals and plants, genes have been introduced in a small number of cells involved in the early embryonic development stage, resulting in the replication of the gene of interest in many or all cells of the adult organism that has been modified [2]
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