Achieving efficient and safe gene delivery is of great significance to promote the development of gene therapy. In this work, a polydopamine (PDA) layer was coated on the surface of Fe3 O4 nanoparticles (NPs) by dopamine (DA) self-polymerization, and then magnetic Fe3 O4 NPs were prepared by the Michael addition between amino groups in polyethyleneimine (PEI) and PDA. The prepared Fe3 O4 NPs (named Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As an efficient and safe gene carrier, the potential of Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI was evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry. The results show that the Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI NPs are stable hydrophilic NPs with a particle size of 50-150 nm. It can efficiently condense DNA at low N/P ratios and protect it from nuclease degradation. In addition, the Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI NPs have higher safety than PEI. Further, the Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI/DNA polyplexes could be effectively absorbed by cells and successfully transfected and exhibit higher cellular uptake and gene transfection efficiency than PEI/DNA polyplexes. The findings indicate that the Fe3 O4 @PDA@PEI NPs have the potential to be developed into a novel gene vector.
Keywords: Fe3O4 nanoparticle; dopamine; gene delivery; polyethyleneimine; self-polymerization.
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