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Encapsulation of Nucleic Acids and Opportunities for Cancer Treatment

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Abstract

The development of nucleic acid drugs for the treatment of various cancers has shown great promise in recent years. However, efficient delivery of these drugs to target cells remains a significant challenge towards the successful development of such therapies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of encapsulation technologies being developed for the delivery of nucleic acid-based anti-cancer agents. Both micro and nanoparticles systems are discussed along with their use in delivering plasmid DNA as well as oligonucleotides. The majority of the systems discussed have used DNA immunotherapy as the potential mode of anticancer therapy, which requires targeting to antigen presenting cells. Other applications, including those with oligonucleotides, focus on targeting tumor cells directly. The results obtained so far show the excellent promise of encapsulation as an efficient means of delivering therapeutic nucleic acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering and College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Mailcode C0300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Lisa Brannon-Peppas

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Bilal Ghosn & Krishnendu Roy

  3. Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Kenneth Cornetta

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  1. Lisa Brannon-Peppas
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Correspondence to Lisa Brannon-Peppas.

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Brannon-Peppas, L., Ghosn, B., Roy, K. et al. Encapsulation of Nucleic Acids and Opportunities for Cancer Treatment. Pharm Res 24, 618–627 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-006-9208-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-006-9208-x

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