Aerosol-Based Fabrication of Modified Chitosans and Their Application for Gene Transfection

Modified chitosan nanoparticles were conveniently obtained by a one-step aerosol method, and their potential for gene transfection was investigated. Droplets containing modified chitosans were formed by collison atomization, dried to form solid particles, and collected and studied for potential use as nanocarriers. Modified chitosans consisted of a chitosan backbone and an additional component [covalently attached cholesterol; or blends with poly(l-lysine) (PLL), polyethyleneimine (PEI), or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)]. Agarose gel retardation assays confirmed that modified chitosans could associate with plasmid DNA. Even though the average cell viability of cholesterol-chitosan (Ch-Cs) showed a slightly higher cytotoxicity (∼90% viability) than that for unmodified chitosan (Cs, ∼95%), transfection (>7.5 × 105 in relative light units (RLU) mg–1) was more effective than it was for Cs (∼7.6 × 104 RLU mg–1). The blending of PEI with Cs (i.e., a Cs/PEI) to produce transfection complexes enhanced the transfect...