Functional Polymers for Targeted Delivery of Nucleic Acid Drugs

Abstract

Cationic polymers have been chemically modified with a variety of targeting molecules such as peptides, proteins, antibodies, sugars and vitamins for targeted delivery of nucleic acid drugs to specific cells. Stimuli-sensitive polymers exhibiting different size, charge and conformation in response to physiological signals from specific cells have also been utilized for targeted delivery. To achieve target-specific delivery of nucleic acids, conjugation chemistry is critical to produce nanosized polyplexes tethered with cell-re ligands for facile cellular uptake via a mediated endocytic pathway. In this review, strategies of functional cationic polymers with various targeting ligands are presented.