Blanca Estela Chávez Sandoval
Professor, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana , Mexico
Title: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their interaction whit DNA for use in Gene Therapy
Biography
Biography: Blanca Estela Chávez Sandoval
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: the treatment of genetic diseases by means of gene therapy, requires many conditions to be fulfilled. Among these conditions, the type of transfection vehicle is of primordial importance. The transfection vehicle must meet special characteristics such as protects DNA from degradation, it must have specific surface charge and easy load release. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been studied in nanomedicine for gene therapy showing promising results, especially when they are provided with specific polymers to avoid degradation of the genetic material.
In this research AuNPs with chitosan, a biodegradable biopolymer, were used as DNA carriers. Their interaction with plasmid DNA was measured by electrophoresis. Zeta sizer was used to evaluate their surface charge and its optical absorption coefficient was also directly measured by photoacoustic techniques.
Conclusion & Significance: The feasibility of photoacoustic techniques to directly measure the optical absorption coefficient (β) of colloidal suspensions of gold nanoparticles was demonstrated, these values were compared with the corresponding ones obtained indirectly through absorbance measurements.
The stability of complexes formed with gold, chitosan and plasmid DNA nanoparticles, and their adhesion strength was demonstrated by electrophoresis. A correlation was observed between the amount of chitosan in the nanocomplexes and their ability to integrate into the plasmid DNA itself. It is recommended to deepen the study of the retention capacity of plasmid DNA, due to the correlation observed regarding the amount of chitosan-DNA.