Abstract
The chapter discusses the family of potent polymers for nucleic acid delivery, polyethylenimines (PEI). This chapter explores the structure and topology of PEI. The mode of action of these PEIs is discussed. Moreover, it presents the in vitro and in vivo transfection potential of PEI. These compounds thus contain ethylamine as the repeating unit, which gives them high solubility in water. The fact that every third atom is amino nitrogen makes them the organic macromolecules with the highest cationic-charge-density potential. The chapter also focuses on the fact that PEI is an efficient carrier for oligonucleotide delivery. PEI associates tightly with the negatively charged DNA. It prevents degradation of the DNA once the PEI/DNA complex has been formed. The DNA complexes interact with the surface of mammalian cells and are rapidly internalized; PEI also contains a large number of amino groups to which ligands can be covalently coupled; and it is available in a large range of molecular sizes. Therefore, PEI is considered an effective and versatile macromolecular carrier because of these unique properties.
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