Dopamine-mimetic-coated polyamidoamine-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles for safe and efficient gene delivery

Abstract

Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in the construction of drug and gene delivery vectors because of their particular physicochemical properties. Surface modification can not only reduce the cytotoxicity of Fe₃O₄, but also further improve the biocompatibility and delivery efficiency. In this work, firstly, polydopamine (PDA)-coated Fe₃O₄ NPs (named Fe₃O₄@PDA) were prepared by using the self-polymerization characteristics of dopamine in alkaline environment. Then, polyamidoamine (PAMAM) was modified by the Michael addition reaction to prepare water-soluble core‒shell magnetic NPs of Fe₃O₄@PDA@PAMAM, and its potential as gene vector was further evaluated. The results revealed that Fe₃O₄@PDA@PAMAM had the ability to condense and protect DNA, and showed lower cytotoxicity, higher cell uptake and transfection efficiency than those of PAMAM. It has the potential to become a magnetic targeted gene vector for further study.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

gene vector / nanoparticle / polydopamine / gene transfection

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Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21602166), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (Grant No. 2020CFB760), and the Research and Innovation Initiatives of WHPU (Grant No. 2021Y11).

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