Gene Therapy: Cationic Lipids for Construction of Nonviral Vectors of Nucleic Acids

Abstract

Gene therapy is often used in clinical research. It is related to the delivery of nucleic acids and their components to patient by a vector. Most current vector techniques can be divided into viral and nonviral. Nonviral vectors, such as cationic liposomes, are less toxic, less immunogenic, and easier to prepare than viral vectors. Hence they are more attractive for clinical applications. This review focuses on the relations between the cationic lipid structure and its transfection activity. To understand the structure-activity relationships is of great importance for synthesis of novel cationic lipids.