Summary

For gene therapy, in v ivo delivery of plasmid DNA offers an alternative to viral delivery methods. Since the efficiency of plasmid delivery to tissues is generally lower than viral delivery, several methods have been introduced to augment in v ivo plasmid delivery including liposome conjugation, particle mediated delivery, and electroporation. In v ivo electroporation has reached clinical trials for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to cancers, and a number of preclinical studies have been performed demonstrating that this technique also enhances plasmid delivery and expression of both reporter and therapeutic genes or cDNAs. This delivery has been performed to a number of t issues including skin, muscle, l iver, testes and tumors employing a wide range of electrical conditions and electrodes. While this preclinical research is promising, further optimization of electrical conditions and electrodes may be necessary for cl inical use. With the availability of a variety of therapeutic gene delivery techniques, it will be possible to tailor gene therapies to individual diseases. I