High DNA‐Binding Affinity and Gene‐Transfection Efficacy of Bioreducible Cationic Nanomicelles with a Fluorinated Core

During the last two decades, cationic polymers have become one of the most promising synthetic vectors for gene transfection. However, the weak interactions formed between DNA and cationic polymers result in low transfection efficacy. Furthermore, the polyplexes formed between cationic polymers and DNA generally exhibit poor stability and toxicity because of the large excess of cationic polymer typically required for complete DNA condensation. Herein, we report the preparation of a novel class of bioreducible cationic nanomicelles by the use of disulfide bonds to connect the cationic shell to the fluorocarbon core. These bioreducible nanomicelles form strong interactions with DNA and completely condense DNA at an N/P ratio of 1. The resulting nanomicelle/DNA polyplexes exhibited high biocompatibility and performed very effectively as a gene‐delivery system.     

Construction of Bovine Serum Albumin/AIE‐Based Quaternary Complexes for Efficient Gene Transfection

High transfection efficiency and superior cell imaging are required for cationic polymers‐based gene delivery system to afford high therapeutic effect but its high toxicity and unstable cell imaging are easily ignored. In this study, cationic amino poly(glycerol methacrylate) derivative (PGMA‐EDA) is used to incorporate bovine serum albumin (BSA) and aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) molecular (tetraphenylethylene derivatives, TPE) as an efficient carrier for gene transfection and intracellular imaging. The obtained polymer/pDNA‐TPE/BSA (PDTB) quaternary nanoparticles (NPs) not only exhibit efficient gene transfection but also show excellent biocompatibility. After inclusion of TPE/BSA (TB) NPs, BSA promoted dissociation of the complexes upon being protonated and the lipophilic TPE‐reduced endosomal membrane stability, which enhanced endosomal escape of pDNA payload, finally resulting in an excellent gene transfection. On the other hand, less positive surface charge of PDTB NPs than that of the binary PD complexes, as well as the addition of biocompatible BSA, both factors contribute to the improved cell viability. Moreover, the AIE feature of TPE compared to aggregation‐caused quenching character of conventional fluorophores enables the complex with stably tracking the delivery of pDNA into cancer cells. Therefore, the newly developed PDTB complexes may be a promising candidate vector for traceable, safe, and effective gene delivery.     

Nonviral gene delivery using poly‐D/L aspartate‐diethylenetriamine cationic polymers and polyethylene glycol: A two‐step approach

Cationic polymers have received much attention as promising nonviral vectors for gene transfer. However, development of polymers with low cell toxicities and high transfection efficiencies continue to be a significant problem and a major hurdle to their success. Poly‐D /L aspartate‐diethylenetriamine poly(D /L Asp‐DET) polymers were synthesized and evaluated as nonviral gene delivery agents. Poly(D /L Asp‐DET) polymers display endosome buffering capacity. The polymers condense plasmid DNA above N:P ratios of 1 and form polyplex particles of ～50–100 nm, with zeta potentials between neutral and +40 mV. Transmission electron microscopy shows the polyplexes to be uniform in size and shape. Polyplexes maintain the structural integrity of DNA following incubation in nucleases and also show high transfection efficiencies with minimal toxicity in both HCT‐116 and PC‐3 cell culture. However, it is found that these poly(D /L Asp‐DET)/DNA polyplexes immediately aggregate in salt and serum conditions, making them unsuitable for use in vivo. Therefore, the polyplexes were further modified by covalent addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Introduction of this second step produces PEG‐polyplexes of uniform size (below 100 nm), with neutral zeta potentials that are also stable in both salt and serum conditions. These results suggest poly(D /L Asp‐DET) cationic polymers as potentially safe and efficient nonviral gene delivery agents. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Modification of Branched Poly(ethylene imine) with d-Fructose for Selective Delivery of siRNA into Human Breast Cancer Cells

Branched poly(ethylene imine) (bPEI) is frequently used in RNA interference (RNAi) experiments as a cationic polymer for the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) because of its ability to form stable polyplexes that facilitate siRNA uptake. However, the use of bPEI in gene delivery is limited by its cytotoxicity and a need for target specificity. In this work, bPEI is modified with d- fructose to improve biocompatibility and target breast cancer cells through the overexpressed GLUT5 transporter. Fructose-substituted bPEI (Fru−bPEI) is accessible in three steps starting from commercially available protected fructopyranosides and bPEI. Several polymers with varying molecular weights, degrees of substitution, and linker positions on d- fructose (C1 and C3) are synthesized and characterized with NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, and elemental analysis. In vitro biological screenings show significantly reduced cytotoxicity of 10 kDa bPEI after fructose functionalization, specific uptake of siRNA polyplexes, and targeted knockdown of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) compared to noncancer cells (HEK293T).     

Block catiomer polyplexes with regulated densities of charge and disulfide cross-linking directed to enhance gene expression

A block catiomer polyplex, showing a high stability in the extracellular medium and an efficient release of plasmid DNA (pDNA) in the intracellular compartment, was developed by controlling both the cationic charge and disulfide cross-linking densities of the backbone polycations. Poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lysine) block copolymer (PEG-PLL) was thiolated using either of two thiolation reagents, N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP) or 2-iminothiolane (Traut's reagent), to investigate the effects of both the charge and disulfide cross-linking densities on the properties of the polyplexes. The introduction of thiol groups by SPDP proceeded through the formation of amide linkages to concomitantly decrease the cationic charge density of PLL segment, whereas Traut's reagent promoted the thiolation with the introduction of cationic imino groups to keep the charge density constant. These thiolated PEG-PLLs were complexed with pDNA to form the disulfide cross-linked block catiomer polyplexes, which had the size of approximately 100 nm. Both thiolation methods were similarly effective in introducing disulfide cross-links to prevent the polyplex from the dissociation through a counter polyanion exchange in the extracellular oxidative condition. On the other hand, the efficient release of pDNA responding to the reductive condition mimicking the intracellular environment was only achieved for the polyplex thiolated with SPDP, a system compensating for the decrease in the charge density with the disulfide cross-linking. This distinctive sensitivity toward oxidative and reductive environments was nicely correlated with the remarkable difference in the transfection efficiency between these two types of thiolated polyplexes (SPDP and Traut's reagent types): the former revealed approximately 50 times higher transfection efficiency toward 293T cells than the latter. Obviously, the balance between the densities of the cationic charge and disulfide cross-linking in the thiolated polyplex played a crucial role in the delivery and controlled release of entrapped pDNA into the microenvironment of intracellular compartment to achieve the high transfection efficiency.     

Water soluble poly(histamine acrylamide) with superior buffer capacity mediates efficient and nontoxic in vitro gene transfection

Water‐soluble cationic polymers, poly(histamine acrylamide)s (PHAs), with superior buffer capacity at the endosomal pH range were designed, prepared, and investigated for non‐viral gene transfection. PHAs were obtained with molecular weights ranging from 9.2 to 28.7 kDa through controlled radical polymerization of histamine acrylamide (HA). Acid–base titration results displayed that all PHA polymers had a remarkably high buffer capacity of about 70% at pH 5.1–7.2. 12.7–28.7 kDa PHAs were able to effectively condense DNA into nano‐sized (<220 nm) polyplexes with moderate positive surface charges (+13–+19 mV) at N/P ratios ≥10/1. CCK assays indicated that polyplexes of 12.7 and 17.5 kDa PHAs were non‐toxic to COS‐7 cells up to a tested N/P ratio of 20/1. Interestingly, the in vitro transfection using pCMV‐Luc and pEGFP‐C1 plasmid DNA as reporter genes showed that polyplexes of 12.7 kDa PHA formed at an N/P ratio of 20/1 mediated efficient transfection in COS‐7 cells under 10% serum conditions, with transfection efficiencies comparable to that of 25 kDa polyethylenimine control. Their versatile design of structures, controlled synthesis, low cytotoxicity, and high transfection activity render PHA‐based cationic polymers particularly interesting for the development of safe and efficient non‐viral gene delivery systems. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.     

基于门舒特金反应的酶触发自降解高分子载体及其在基因输送中的应用

用邻位苄基溴与双胺进行门舒特金反应,合成了2种线性的季铵盐阳离子聚合物.其中,含有酚基酯键的阳离子聚合物,一旦进入细胞后,可以在细胞内的酯酶催化下快速水解,使得聚合物自降解断裂为不带电的非季铵盐小分子,从而快速释放DNA,最终达到提高转染效率的目的.通过对复合物纳米颗粒的粒径和电势测定,证明了这2种阳离子聚合物都能够有效地结合DNA形成表面带正电的复合物纳米颗粒.凝胶阻滞电泳实验表明,所合成的阳离子聚合物都能稳定地包裹DNA.而在酯酶条件下,含有酚基酯键的阳离子聚合物可以发生降解,使得纳米复合物释放出DNA.同时,含有酚基酯键的阳离子聚合物由于其独特的可降解性,相比于PEI,降低了细胞毒性.在体外细胞转染实验中,2种阳离子聚合物都有较好的转染效果.其中酯酶响应的载体在高N/P下依然表现出较高的转染效率,说明该阳离子载体能够在细胞内有效降解并释放出DNA.     

Polycationic Amphiphilic Cyclodextrins for Gene Delivery: Synthesis and Effect of Structural Modifications on Plasmid DNA Complex Stability,Cytotoxicity, and Gene Expression

A molecular‐diversity‐oriented approach for the preparation of well‐defined polycationic amphiphilic cyclodextrins (paCDs) as gene‐delivery systems is reported. The synthetic strategy takes advantage of the differential reactivity of primary versus secondary hydroxyl groups on the CD torus to regioselectively decorate each rim with cationic elements and lipophilic tails, respectively. Both the charge density and the hydrophobic–hydrophilic balance can be finely tuned in a highly symmetrical architecture that is reminiscent of both cationic lipids and cationic polymers, the two most prominent types of nonviral gene vectors. The monodisperse nature of paCDs and the modularity of the synthetic scheme are particularly well suited for structure–activity relationship studies. Gel electrophoresis revealed that paCDs self‐assemble in the presence of plasmid DNA (pDNA) to provide homogeneous, stable nanoparticles (CDplexes) of 70–150 nm that fully protect pDNA from the environment. The transfection efficiency of the resulting CDplexes has been investigated in vitro on BNL‐CL2 and COS‐7 cell lines in the absence and presence of serum and found to be intimately dependent on architectural features. Facial amphiphilicity and the presence of a cluster of cationic and hydrogen‐bonding centers for cooperative and reversible complexation of the polyanionic DNA chain is crucial to attain high transgene expression levels with very low toxicity profiles. Further enhancement of gene expression, eventually overcoming that of polyplexes from commercial polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymers (22 kDa), is achieved by building up space‐oriented dendritic polycationic constructs.     

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy reveals functional differences of cationic polymer-DNA complexes

Cationic polymers bind DNA and form compacted nanoparticulates (i.e., polyplexes). Polyplexes augment DNA delivery into the cells as a nonviral method of gene therapy. DNA packing and release are the key factors in polyplex-mediated gene delivery, but they are poorly understood due to the lack of physical methods of investigation. We used time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to study poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) polyplexes. Analysis of fluorescence lifetimes and time-resolved spectra revealed that DNA exists in several different states in PEI polyplexes and only in one tightly bound state in PLL polyplexes. The observed difference in the nature of the polyplexes may explain why PEI releases DNA more easily than PLL even though both polycations condense DNA effectively. The present method utilizing time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy gives information on the specific interactions between DNA and the cationic polymers in the polyplexes. This kind of information is very important in the development of biologically effective nonviral systems for DNA delivery.     

Efficient Transfection via an Unexpected Mechanism by Near Neutral Polypiperazines with Tailored Response to Endosomal pH

Cationic pH-responsive polymers promise to overcome critical challenges in cellular delivery. Ideally, the polymers become selectively charged along the endosomal pathway disturbing only the local membrane and avoiding unintended interactions or cytotoxic side effects at physiological conditions. Polypiperazines represent a novel, hydrophilic class of pH-responsive polymers whose response can be tuned within the relevant pH range (5–7.4). The authors discovered that the polypiperazines are effectively binding plasmid DNA (pDNA) and demonstrate high efficiency in transfection. By design of experiments (DoE), a wide parameter space (pDNA and polymer concentration) is screened to identify the range of effective concentrations for transfection. An isopropyl modified polypiperazine is highly efficient over a wide range of concentrations outperforming linear polyethylenimine (l-PEI, 25 kDa) in regions of low N*/P ratios. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) surprisingly revealed that the pDNA within the piperazine-based polyplexes can be amplified in contrast to polyplexes based on l-PEI. The pDNA must therefore be more accessible and bound differently than for other known transfection polymers. Considering the various opportunities to further optimize their structure, polypiperazines represent a promising platform for designing effective soluble polymeric vectors, which are charge-neutral at physiological conditions.     

Odd-even effect of repeating aminoethylene units in the side chain of N-substituted polyaspartamides on gene transfection profiles

A series of the N-substituted polyaspartamides possessing repeating aminoethylene units in the side chain was prepared in this study to identify polyplexes with effective endosomal escape and low cytotoxicity. All cationic N-substituted polyaspartamides showed appreciably lower cytotoxicity than that of commercial transfection reagents. Interestingly, a distinctive odd-even effect of the repeating aminoethylene units in the polymer side chain on the efficiencies of endosomal escape and transfection to several cell lines was observed. The polyplexes from the polymers with an even number of repeating aminoethylene units (PA-Es) achieved an order of magnitude higher transfection efficiency, without marked cytotoxicity, than those of the polymers with an odd number of repeating aminoethylene units (PA-Os). This odd-even effect agreed well with the buffering capacity of these polymers as well as their capability to disrupt membrane integrity selectively at endosomal pH, leading to highly effective endosomal escape of the PA-E polyplexes. Furthermore, the formation of a polyvalent charged array with precise spacing between protonated amino groups in the polymer side chain was shown to be essential for effective disruption of the endosomal membrane, thus facilitating transport of the polyplex into the cytoplasm. These data provide useful knowledge for designing polycations to construct safe and efficient nonviral gene carriers.     

Correlation of amine number and pDNA binding mechanism for trehalose-based polycations

Glycopolymers with repeat units comprised of the disaccharide trehalose and an oligoamine of increasing amine have been previously synthesized by our group and shown to efficiently deliver pDNA (plasmid DNA) to HeLa cells while remaining relatively nontoxic. Complexes formed between the most amine-dense of these polycations and pDNA were also found to be relatively stable in serum and have low aggregation, which is desirable for in vivo gene delivery. To lend insight into these interesting results, this study was aimed at investigating the binding strength and mechanism of interaction between these macromolecules, via isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and ethidium bromide exclusion assays. The size of these pDNA-polymer complexes, or polyplexes, at various states of formation was determined through light scattering and zeta-potential measurements. Varying degrees of pDNA secondary structure change occurred upon interaction with the polymers, as evidenced by circular dichroism spectra through increasing molar ratios of polymer amine to DNA phosphate, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results demonstrated stronger electrostatic binding with the phosphate backbone with the least amine-dense of the series. It was concluded that, depending on the number of secondary amines in the repeat unit, these polymers interact with pDNA via different mechanisms with varying extents of electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding. These differing mechanisms may affect the ability of trehalose to serve as a deterrent against aggregation in serum conditions and lend insight into the roles of polymer-pDNA binding during the complex transfection process.     

聚乙二醇嵌段树枝状聚赖氨酸共聚物的合成及其基因载体研究

采用液相多肽合成法制备得到窄分子量分布、结构可控的生物相容性聚乙二醇嵌段共聚树枝状聚赖氨酸阳离子功能大分子(PEG-b-Dendritic PLL). 运用¹H NMR核磁共振、凝胶电泳以及荧光淬灭滴定手段对所得阳离子两嵌段大分子的化学结构及其与质粒DNA (pDNA)结合作用与复合行为进行了研究. 结果表明聚乙二醇嵌段树枝状聚赖氨酸与pDNA分子可以在缓冲溶液中形成稳定的胶束, pDNA与阳离子树枝赖氨酸嵌段通过静电相互作用形成胶束核, 其水溶性聚乙二醇嵌段形成水溶性胶束壳, 提高了阳离子大分子/pDNA复合胶束的稳定性. 同时发现随着阳离子嵌段树枝状赖氨酸代数的增加, 阳离子两嵌段大分子与pDNA的结合作用增强, 有利于其作为基因转染生物功能载体的应用.     

Hydrogen bonds in polycation improve the gene delivery efficiency in the serum-containing environment

Cationic polymers with high charge density could effectively condense the DNA and achieve gene transfection; however, it often brings non-negligible cytotoxicity. Notably, the high charge density gene vector fails in the serum environment, limiting further application in vivo. In this paper, an efficient and reliable non-viral gene vector of poly (amidoamine) (PAA) was designed by introducing diacryolyl-2,6-diaminopyridine (DADAP) onto the PAA backbone through Michael-addition polymerization, which provides high transfection efficiency in a serum-containing environment. Diacryolyl-2,6-diaminopyridine and cationic parts provided multiple interactions between gene vectors and DNA, including hydrogen bond and electrostatic interactions. The introduction of hydrogen bonding can effectively reduce the charge density of polyplexes without reducing the DNA condensing ability, incorporating the diaminopyridine group and cationic part in PAA chains successfully consolidated cellular uptake, endosome destabilization, and transfection efficiency for the PAA/DNA complexes with low cytotoxicity. The constructed vector with multiple interactions presented 6 times higher transfection efficiency in serum-free and 9 times in serum-containing environment than that of branched polyethyleneimine (PEI 25K) in 293T cells in vitro. Therefore, introducing the hydrogen band to form low charge density polyplexes with high transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity has a great potential in gene delivery.     

Polyplexes and lipoplexes for mammalian gene delivery: from traditional to microarray screening

Gene therapy requires the development of non-toxic and highly efficient delivery systems for DNA and RNAi. Polycations, especially dendrimers, have shown enormous potential as gene transfer vehicles, displaying minimal toxicity with a broad range of cell lines. In this paper, a total of 13 dendrimers, up to G3.0, were constructed from AB(3) type isocyanate monomers using solid phase methodology and evaluated for transfection activity. Among the library of compounds prepared, a G3.0 dendrimer displayed comparable activity to Superfect. Gel retardation assays demonstrated that all of the compounds completely bound plasmid DNA, indicating the efficient formation of complexes between DNA and the dendrimers. A "transfection microarray" approach was developed for screening these compounds as well as a panel of lipoplexes (complexes of DNA with cationic lipids) and polyplexes (complexes of DNA with synthetic polycationic polymers), in 3D solution like micro-assay). Five cationic lipids with a cholesterol tail showed stronger or comparable transfection activity relative to Effectene. The new, micro-array screening method was rapid and miniaturized, offering the potential of high throughput screening of large libraries of transfection candidates, with thousands of library members per array, and the ability to rapidly screen a broad range of cell types.     

纳米阳离子多聚物在基因载体系统的应用

阳离子多聚物能与DNA通过静电吸附作用而自组装成纳米微粒,防止DNA被核酸酶降解.阳离子多聚物由于具备合成简便、储存稳定、基因荷载率高、靶向性强、免疫原性低等优点而被用作基因载体.阳离子多聚物按特性可分为两类：合成型和天然型.经典的人工合成型阳离子多聚物基因载体主要有：多聚乙烯亚胺、多聚左旋赖氨酸和树状大分子等;天然生物型阳离子多聚物基因载体主要有壳聚糖及其衍生物和明胶等.本文详细论述了各种阳离子聚合物用作基因载体的性能特点、自身缺陷、介导基因进入细胞的机理和靶向性策略,并对非病毒基因载体的发展作出展望.     

New poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s induce DNA nanoparticle formation and efficient gene delivery into mammalian cells

In this report, four new poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s (1-4) have been designed to lower the toxicity of conventional polymeric nucleic acid delivery vehicles by incorporating a carbohydrate comonomer within a polyethylenimine (PEI)-like backbone. Polymers 1-4 were synthesized via polycondensation of esterified d-glucaric acid and four different amine-containing comonomers [diethylenetriamine (1), triethylenetetramine (2), tetraethylenepentamine (3), and pentaethylenehexamine (4)] in methanol. Viscometry and NMR studies suggest that the polymers are mostly linear (for 1-4, the alpha value in the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation = 0.6-0.7), thus indicating that polymerization occurs predominantly through the primary amines with a low degree of branching off the secondary amines. Results of gel electrophoresis shift assays show that polymers 1-4 bind pDNA at N/P ratios of 5, 3, 2, and 2, respectively. Also, dynamic light scattering and TEM experiments indicate that 1-4 compact DNA into nanoparticles (polyplexes) between 140 and 440 nm at an N/P ratio of 30. Furthermore, polyplexes formed with 1-4 deliver pDNA (plasmid DNA) containing the firefly luciferase reporter gene to BHK-21 cells in a nontoxic and highly efficient manner (as determined by luciferase gene expression). In particular, polymer 4 reveals very high delivery efficiency (equivalent to linear PEI). This result may be due in part to the "proton sponge" hypothesis proposed by Behr et al. Polymers containing amines that are protonated in the endosomal pH range (between about 7.4-5.0) reveal enhanced gene delivery profiles.     

Deciphering the role of hydrogen bonding in enhancing pDNA-polycation interactions

There is considerable interest in the binding and condensation of DNA with polycations to form polyplexes because of their possible application to cellular nucleic acid delivery. This work focuses on studying the binding of plasmid DNA (pDNA) with a series of poly(glycoamidoamine)s (PGAAs) that have previously been shown to deliver pDNA in vitro in an efficient and nontoxic manner. Herein, we examine the PGAA-pDNA binding energetics, binding-linked protonation, and electrostatic contribution to the free energy with isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The size and charge of the polyplexes at various ITC injection points were then investigated by light scattering and zeta-potential measurements to provide comprehensive insight into the formation of these polyplexes. An analysis of the calorimetric data revealed a three-step process consisting of two different endothermic contributions followed by the condensation/aggregation of polyplexes. The strength of binding and the point of charge neutralization were found to be dependent upon the hydroxyl stereochemistry of the carbohydrate moiety within each polymer repeat unit. Circular dichroism spectra reveal that the PGAAs induce pDNA secondary structure changes upon binding, which suggest a direct interaction between the polymers and the DNA base pairs. Infrared spectroscopy experiments confirmed both base pair and phosphate group interactions and, more specifically, showed that the stronger-binding PGAAs had more pronounced interactions at both sites. Thus, we conclude that the mechanism of poly(glycoamidoamine)-pDNA binding is most likely a combination of electrostatics and hydrogen bonding in which long-range Coulombic forces initiate the attraction and hydroxyl groups in the carbohydrate comonomer, depending on their stereochemistry, further enhance the association through hydrogen bonding to the DNA base pairs.     

含氟高分子基因载体

阳离子高分子被广泛应用为非病毒类基因载体,但这类高分子材料的转染效率与细胞毒性之间通常存在"恶性"关联,即获得高转染效率时往往会伴随严重的细胞毒性.如何制备兼具高效、低毒特点的高分子载体是成功实施基因治疗的关键.含氟高分子是一类具有独特理化性质的高分子,能够在低电荷密度条件下与核酸形成稳定的复合物,从而实现高效、低毒的基因转染.含氟功能基团可帮助阳离子高分子改善复合物稳定性、细胞内吞、内涵体逃逸、胞内核酸释放等多个环节,从而赋予了含氟高分子在基因递送过程中的氟效应.该专论系统地总结了含氟高分子基因载体的研究,介绍了含氟高分子的基因递送性能、作用机理以及在基因治疗、基因编辑中的应用,并对含氟高分子载体的未来发展进行了展望.     

Polyethylenimine-based polyplex nanoparticles and features of their behavior in cells and tissues

The design of efficient systems for the targeted delivery of nucleic acids into cells is a rapidly developing area of polymer chemistry, molecular biology, and medicine. Complexes between DNA or RNA polyanions and various polycations, which are usually called polyplexes, hold promise as such delivery systems. Polyethylenimines (PEIs) and their derivatives are often used in research for the preparation of such complexes with plasmid DNA, oligonucleotides, and small RNA. Polyplex nanoparticles are employed for the delivery of genetic material into cells in culture and for the development of methods for the treatment of genetic and cancer diseases. The properties of polyplexes depend on the size, dispersity, and hydrophilicity of the used PEI or its derivatives and the ratio of polymers in the complex, which are responsible for the size, surface charge, and hydrophilicity of the resulting nanoparticles. The efficiency of polyplexes is determined by their ability to interact with components of biological systems on the surface and inside the cells, as well as with the blood vascular walls and the extracellular matrix during systemic in vivo use.