
Great therapeutic potential is offered by new classes of drugs that can silence specific genes, such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). But the specific delivery of siRNAs to target cells to exert their effects remains a significant challenge.
A novel nanoparticle-based approach that enables more efficient delivery of siRNA drugs is presented in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers. The article is available on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).
Compared to a commonly used lipid-based transport agent, the cSCK nanoparticles described in this article better protected siRNAs from being degraded in the bloodstream and were associated with greater gene silencing efficiency of siRNA drugs.
"The potential of siRNAs as therapeutic agents is immense, but we still have to develop better and more targeted delivery methods for many diseases," says Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD, SomaLogic, Inc., Boulder, CO. "The work of Shen and colleagues demonstrates that nanotechnology approaches are rapidly progressing towards the goal of meeting the challenge of delivery."
Source: Eurekalert
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