Background

Nucleic acid therapeutics promise to treat genetic disorders, infectious disease and cancer. However, nucleic acid delivery to target cells remains a challenge, as nucleic acids are highly charged and easily degraded. Viral vectors have been used to accomplish this task but have many drawbacks including the efficiency of entering the cells and possible side effects of the vector itself. There has been intense work to develop better delivery systems to make good on the promise of nucleic acid therapeutics.

A nucleic acid delivery vehicle must be able to: provide stable encapsulation, proceed easily through the blood, and target a specific tissue. Target cells must readily take up the delivery vehicle to ensure that the genetic material is appropriately delivered.