Para amino benzoic acid-derived self-assembled biocompatible nanoparticles for efficient delivery of siRNA

Abstract

Teegala Lakshminarayan Reddy,1,5 P Sivarama Krishnarao,2 Garikapati Koteswara Rao,1,5 Eswar Bhimireddy,2 P Venkateswarlu,4 Debendra K Mohapatra,2,5 JS Yadav,2 Utpal Bhadra,3 Manika Pal Bhadra1,5 1Centre for Chemical Biology, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, 2Natural Products Chemistry Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, 3Functional Genomics and Gene Silencing Group, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, 4Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirpupati, 5Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi, India Abstract: A number of diseases can result from abnormal gene expression. One of the approaches for treating such diseases is gene therapy to inhibit expression of a particular gene in a specific cell population by RNA interference. Use of efficient delivery vehicles increases the safety and success of gene therapy. Here we report the development of functionalized biocompatible fluorescent nanoparticles from para amino benzoic acid nanoparticles for efficient delivery of short interfering RNA (siRNA). These nanoparticles were non-toxic and did not interfere with progression of the cell cycle. The intrinsic fluorescent nature of these nanoparticles allows easy tracking and an opportunity for diagnostic applications. Human Bcl-2 siRNA was complexed with these nanoparticles to inhibit expression in cells at both the transcriptional and translational levels. Our findings indicated high gene transfection efficiency. These biocompatible nanoparticles allow targeted delivery of siRNA, providing an efficient vehicle for gene delivery. Keywords: biocompatibility, nanoparticles, siRNA, cell uptake, endocytosis, gene silencing