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PLGA cationic nanoparticles, obtained from nano-emulsion templating, as potential DNA vaccines

2019; Elsevier BV; Volume: 120; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.109229

1873-1945

Eduard Soler Besumbes, Cristina Fornaguera, Marta Monge, María José Núñez García, Javier Carrión, Conxita Solans, Aurora Dols-Pérez,

Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

Schematic representation of the innovative methodology used to prepare cationic nanoparticles , from template nano-emulsions, and their resulting properties. • PLGA cationic nanoparticles were prepared using nano-emulsions (NE) as template. • Cationic surfactants used in the NE confer the surface charge to the NP. • PLGA cationic nanoparticles were successfully complex with DNA HisAK70 plasmids. Polymeric nanoparticles offer advantageous characteristics as gene-delivery vectors such as biocompatibility and biodegradability. With this aim, a smart and innovative strategy was followed here: Cationic PLGA nano-emulsions, prepared by a low energy method, were used as templates to obtain cationic nanoparticles (NPs) able to easily complex with nucleic acids (i.e. plasmid DNA) by electrostatic interactions. The strategy employed to produce stable positively-charged nanoparticles was the use of non-ionic/cationic surfactant mixtures to stabilize template nano-emulsions. This methodology allowed obtaining nanoparticles with reproducible nanometric sizes and positive zeta potential values, appropriate to successfully complex with nucleic acids, resulting in nanometric spherical polyplexes. Nanoparticles, plasmids and polyplexes proved to be biocompatible at the optimal concentration. Therefore, we can conclude that we have designed a novel strategy to efficiently obtain cationic polymeric nanoparticles that can be a promising approach to act as novel non-viral gene-delivery vectors, useful for many applications in gene therapy, such as gene vaccines.