Gelatin-based nanoparticles as DNA transfection vectors

促进DNA转移到细胞中最常用的方法是使用病毒载体，这是目前正在研究的最有效的载体，占正在进行的临床试验的65%以上。作为一种基因治疗，病毒载体有几个潜在的缺点；最重要的是，存在非常真实的安全问题，因为病毒衣壳有可能产生严重的免疫反应，导致突变，正如一些动物实验和人体试验所证明的那样，其中已有患者死亡(由腺病毒载体引起)的报道。另一种方法是使用能够结合DNA并将其输送到细胞内的自组装纳米颗粒。这些非病毒系统通常基于带正电荷的脂类或聚合物，通常不具有免疫原性，毒性低；然而，它们在DNA传递方面也存在效率低下的问题。

The most commonly applied method for facilitating the transfer of DNA into cells is through the use of viral vectors, which are the most efficient vectors currently being studied, accounting for more than 65% of ongoing clinical trials. Viral vectors have several potential disadvantages for application as a gene therapy; most significantly, very real safety concerns exist because viral capsids have the potential to generate a severe immune response, cause mutagenisis , as has been demonstrated in a number of animal experiments and human trials, where patient death (resulting from adenoviral vector) has been reported. An alternative approach is to use self-assembling nanoparticles that are capable of binding DNA and delivering it into the cells. These non-viral systems are typically based upon positively charged lipids or polymers, and are generally non-immunogenic and have low toxicities; however, they also suffer from low efficiency in terms of DNA delivery.