Background: Hearing loss is a condition that may affect a wide array of patients from various backgrounds. There are no cures for sensorineural hearing loss. Gene therapy is one possible method of improving hearing status; however, gene delivery remains challenging. Materials & methods: Polymer nanoaggregates of alginate and poly-L-lysine were prepared with and without bile acid. The nanoaggregates had physical properties, cytotoxicity, gene release and gene expression analyzed. Results & discussion: The nanoparticles produced had appropriate size and charge, low cytotoxicity between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml and linear gene release but poor transfection efficiency. Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of polymer nanotechnology with bile acids for inner ear gene delivery; optimization is required to improve transfection efficiency.
Journal article
2023-08-01T00:00:00+00:00
18
1247 - 1260
13
bile acid, cationic polymer, gene delivery, hearing loss, nanotechnology