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

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Design and Delivery of SiRNA Therapeutics

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2282))

Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MolBNL@UniTs), Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Erik Laurini, Suzana Aulic, Domenico Marson, Maurizio Fermeglia & Sabrina Pricl

  2. Department of General Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

    Sabrina Pricl

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  1. Erik Laurini
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  2. Suzana Aulic
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  3. Domenico Marson
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  4. Maurizio Fermeglia
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  5. Sabrina Pricl
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Correspondence to Erik Laurini .

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  1. Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital Odense, Denmark, Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Henrik J. Ditzel

  2. Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Martina Tuttolomondo

  3. Center for RNA Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Sakari Kauppinen

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Laurini, E., Aulic, S., Marson, D., Fermeglia, M., Pricl, S. (2021). Cationic Dendrimers for siRNA Delivery: An Overview of Methods for In Vitro/In Vivo Characterization. In: Ditzel, H.J., Tuttolomondo, M., Kauppinen, S. (eds) Design and Delivery of SiRNA Therapeutics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2282. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1298-9_14

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