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Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1): 26-34.DOI: 10.5246/jcps.2024.01.003

• Original articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A comprehensive comparative analysis of transfection reagents for siRNA delivery

Shuwen Tong1,3,4, Xianrong Qi1,2,*()   

  1. 1 Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
    2 Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug Delivery System, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
    3 Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    4 D-Nano Therapeutics Inc. Beijing 102206, China
  • Received:2023-10-23 Revised:2023-11-15 Accepted:2023-12-09 Online:2024-01-31 Published:2024-01-31
  • Contact: Xianrong Qi
  • Supported by:
    "Open Competition to Select the Best Candidates" Key Technology Program for Nucleic Acid Drugs of NCTIB (Grant No. NCTIB2022HS01001), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. L202044).

Abstract:

siRNAs have emerged as essential tools in biological research and hold promise as next-generation therapeutics for gene therapy. However, achieving successful and safe siRNA transfection remains a challenge, especially for cells that are notoriously difficult to transfect. The efficiency of siRNA transfection is influenced by factors such as uptake, cellular availability, and cytotoxicity. Generally, higher transfection efficiency is associated with increased uptake, improved cellular availability, and reduced cytotoxicity. This study aimed to compare the performance of different transfection reagents in delivering siRNAs, focusing on their uptake, knockdown efficacy, and toxicity. All reagents measured in here were good uptaken in HepG2 and HEK293T cells, but low uptake in RAW264.7 cells. Among them, the newly developed CALNP RNAi transfection reagent exhibited distinct uptake profiles when compared to other transfection reagents across various tested cell lines. CALNP RNAi consistently demonstrated superior transfection efficiency and minimal cell toxicity in all the tested cell lines. Furthermore, CALNP RNAi held promise for enabling RNA interference in "hard-to-transfect" cells. This research contributed to our understanding of effective siRNA delivery methods and highlighted the potential of CALNP RNAi transfection reagent as a valuable tool for gene silencing, especially in challenging cellular contexts.

Key words: Transfection reagent, siRNA, RNA interfering, "Hard-to-transfect" cells

Supporting: