Cyclic core dendrimer as a new kind of vector for gene transfer into mammalian cells.

Abstract

Cyclic core dendritic polymer is a new type of synthetic polymers. The ability of generation 4 of the dendrimer with a core of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane to function as an effective gene delivery vector was investigated. Results from fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) show that the pCH 110 plasmid DNA was transferred into human small intestine cancer metastatic ascites (HICMA) cells induced by this kind of dendrimer as a vector. The transferred LacZ, GFP and luciferase genes were highly expressed in the transfected HICMA, COS-7 and 293 cells. These studies demonstrate that the dendrimer can transfect mammalian cells in vitro which offers an alternatively efficient method for mammalian gene transfer.