The synthesis and characterization of lipophilic peptide-based carriers for gene delivery

Lipophilic carriers have shown great potential in improving the delivery of gene therapeutics. We have synthesized positively charged peptide-based carriers including lipoamino acids. The carriers were shown to interact with DNA by performing isothermal titration calorimetry and particle size and zeta potential experiments. An exothermic reaction resulted from the titration of carrier into DNA. The particle sizes of the carrier/DNA complexes varied over the different charge ratios from 200–800 nm. The zeta potential was negative at a low charge ratio but positive when the amount of carrier was increased. The utilisation of lipophilic carriers is a promising approach to improve the bioavailability of gene delivery.