Design and synthesis of a fluorescent amino poly(glycidyl methacrylate) for efficient gene delivery.

A fluorescent amino poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGOHMA) was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and post-polymerization. The obtained star polymer PGOHMA has eight polymer arms enriched with amine groups for gene delivery. PGOHMA showed much lower cytotoxicity and higher delivery efficiency, compared with the widely used commercial and previously reported gene carriers. Therefore, a new star-shaped fluorescent polymer was successfully synthesized and explored as an efficient gene carrier.