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Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric nanomaterials is a common term used to designate all polymer-based nanomaterials made of natural, synthetic, or semisynthetic polymers in the nanoscale range. Depending on their behavior, they can be classified as biodegradable or non-biodegradable. They are used to encapsulate and deliver a broad variety of compounds, ranging from drugs, water-insoluble chemicals, metals, bioactive compounds, proteins, and nucleic acids to vaccine antigens to the desired site of action. Polymeric nanoparticles with low cytotoxicity can prevent the delivered antigens or drugs from degradation; further, nanomaterials can make the vaccine antigen long-acting.

This Special Issue, focused on polymer-based nanomaterials including natural polymeric nanomaterials, chemically synthesized polymer materials, and biosynthesized polymeric materials will report the latest progresses on the synthesis, properties, and applications of this type of materials. Polymer-based nanomaterials are a versatile class of nanocomposites with great potential in a large number of applications.

Prof. Dr. Ana María Díez-Pascual
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Keywords

Tunable metamaterials
Multifunctional metamaterials
Nonlinear metamaterials
Biomedical applications
Clinical diagnosis
Sensors

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22 pages, 5275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization and Optimization of Chitosan-Coated Polybutylcyanoacrylate Nanoparticles for the Transfection-Guided Neural Differentiation of Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

by Martin Hsiu-Chu Lin, Ping-Shan Lai, Li-Ching Chang, Wei-Chao Huang, Ming-Hsueh Lee, Kuo-Tai Chen, Chiu-Yen Chung and Jen-Tsung Yang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(16), 8741; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22168741 - 14 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2654

Abstract

Gene transfection is a valuable tool for analyzing gene regulation and function, and providing an avenue for the genetic engineering of cells for therapeutic purposes. Though efficient, the potential concerns over viral vectors for gene transfection has led to research in non-viral alternatives. Cationic polyplexes such as those synthesized from chitosan offer distinct advantages such as enhanced polyplex stability, cellular uptake, endo-lysosomal escape, and release, but are limited by the poor solubility and viscosity of chitosan. In this study, the easily synthesized biocompatible and biodegradable polymeric polysorbate 80 polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles (PS80 PBCA NP) are utilized as the backbone for surface modification with chitosan, in order to address the synthetic issues faced when using chitosan alone as a carrier. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) containing the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene coupled to a hypoxia-responsive element and the cytomegalovirus promotor gene was selected as the genetic cargo for the in vitro transfection-guided neural-lineage specification of mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which were assessed by immunofluorescence staining. The chitosan-coated PS80 PBCA NP/BDNF pDNA polyplex measured 163.8 ± 1.8 nm and zeta potential measured −34.8 ± 1.8 mV with 0.01% (w/v) high molecular weight chitosan (HMWC); the pDNA loading efficiency reached 90% at a nanoparticle to pDNA weight ratio of 15, which also corresponded to enhanced polyplex stability on the DNA stability assay. The HMWC-PS80 PBCA NP/BDNF pDNA polyplex was non-toxic to mouse iPSCs for up to 80 μg/mL (weight ratio = 40) and enhanced the expression of BDNF when compared with PS80 PBCA NP/BDNF pDNA polyplex. Evidence for neural-lineage specification of mouse iPSCs was observed by an increased expression of nestin, neurofilament heavy polypeptide, and beta III tubulin, and the effects appeared superior when transfection was performed with the chitosan-coated formulation. This study illustrates the versatility of the PS80 PBCA NP and that surface decoration with chitosan enabled this delivery platform to be used for the transfection-guided differentiation of mouse iPSCs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Polymer-Based Nanomaterials)

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