Nanostructured gene and drug delivery systems based on molecular self-assembly

Molecular self-assembly describes the assembly of molecular components into complex, supramolecular structures governed by weak, non-covalent interactions. In recent years, molecular self-assembly has been used extensively as a means of creating materials and devices with well-controlled, nanometer-scale architectural features. In this thesis, molecular self-assembly is used as a tool for the fabrication of both gene and drug delivery systems which, by virtue of their well-controlled architectural features, possess advantageous properties relative to traditional materials used in these applications. The first part of this thesis describes the solution-phase self-assembly of a new family of linear-dendritic "hybrid" polymers with plasmid DNA for applications in gene therapy. It begins with an overview of the design of next-generation, non-viral gene delivery systems and continues through the synthesis and validation of hybrid polymer systems, which possess modular functionalities for DNA binding, endosomal escape, steric stabilization, and tissue targeting. This part of the thesis concludes with applications of these systems to two areas of clinical interest: DNA vaccination and tumor targeted gene therapy.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Wood, Kris Cameron

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paula T. Hammond.

• Chemical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39350

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39350