Department of Biological Sciences and the Graduate Program of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305‐701, Republic of Korea
Abstract:
Cationic polymers have been chemically modified with a variety of targeting molecules such as peptides, proteins, antibodies, sugars and vitamins for targeted delivery of nucleic acid drugs to specific cells. Stimuli‐sensitive polymers exhibiting different size, charge and conformation in response to physiological signals from specific cells have also been utilized for targeted delivery. To achieve target‐specific delivery of nucleic acids, conjugation chemistry is critical to produce stable nanosized polyplexes tethered with cell‐recognizable ligands for facile cellular uptake via a receptor‐mediated endocytic pathway. In this review, synthetic strategies of functional cationic polymers with various targeting ligands are presented.