Localized nucleic acid delivery to living cells using nanobiotechnology approaches

Nucleic acids delivered to cells are powerful research tools and promising therapeutics. Spatial and temporal control of delivery is essential for the efficacy, safety and specificity of the application. The shuttles for nucleic acid delivery, so-called vectors, are nanometric biological or synthetic entities comprising complex biological functionalities. We localize nucleic acid delivery exploiting carrier materials. These are on the one hand implantable biomaterials doted with vectors for tissue engineering purposes, on the other hand magnetic nanoparticles associated with vectors which can be magnetically directed to a target site. We pursue these approaches to provide novel tools for research and therapy.