Photoenhanced gene transfection by a star-shaped polymer consisting of a porphyrin core and poly(L-lysine) dendron arms.

A star-shaped polymer (PP-PLLD) consisting of a porphyrin (PP) core and poly(L-lysine) dendron arms (PLLD) is synthesized by the click reaction, and its ability to deliver pEGFP is investigated in this paper. It is found that PP-PLLD has a good buffer capacity and can form compact complexes with pEGFP. In vitro assay indicates that PP-PLLD shows photoenhanced gene transfection efficiency. PP-PLLD consisting of only third generation PLLD shows a higher transfected cell number than PEI under a Xe lamp at the N/P ratio of 20, and meanwhile shows a neglectable cytotoxicity to HeLa cells. Therefore, PP-PLLD with suited irradiation is a promising nontoxic and photoinducible effective gene delivery strategy, which should be encouraged in gene therapy.