Physicochemical and biological characterization of chitosan-microRNA nanocomplexes for gene delivery to MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Santos-Carballal B, Aaldering LJ, Ritzefeld M, et al. Physicochemical and biological characterization of chitosan-microRNA nanocomplexes for gene delivery to MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Scientific Reports. 2015;5(1): 13567.Cancer gene therapy requires the design of non-viral vectors that carry genetic material and selectively deliver it with minimal toxicity. Non-viral vectors based on cationic natural polymers can form electrostatic complexes with negatively-charged polynucleotides such as microRNAs (miRNAs). Here we investigated the physicochemical/biophysical properties of chitosan-hsa-miRNA-145 (CS-miRNA) nanocomplexes and the biological responses of MCF-7 breast cancer cells cultured in vitro. Self-assembled CS-miRNA nanocomplexes were produced with a range of (+/-) charge ratios (from 0.6 to 8) using chitosans with various degrees of acetylation and molecular weight. The Z-average particle diameter of the complexes was