METHOD FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF CATIONIC CARBON NANOPARTICLES AND ITS APPLICATION FOR EFFICIENT GENE TRANSFECTION OF HUMAN CELLS.

Description

The present invention relates to an innovative, easy and efficient method for gene delivery using PEI-coated carbon dots by an electrostatic bonding process. This biofunctional approach allows the generation of optimal cationic carbon dots (CCDs) that are scalable and adaptable to various transfection needs. CCDs improve cell viability and quadruple transfection efficiency compared to current PEI polyplex standards. This technology has proven to be especially effective in challenging transfection protocols, such as the generation of retroviral vectors by co-transfection of multiple plasmids, achieving high efficiency and functionality in the production of infectious retroviral particles.

Advantages

- Efficient and reproducible gene delivery into human cells in culture.
- Solution to the main challenges of gene delivery:
• High cellular uptake and endosomal escape to maximize the effect of the genetic material introduced into the cells.
• Low cellular toxicity, essential for safe applications.
- Scalability and affordable manufacturing, suitable for biomedical and potentially clinical applications (gene therapy).
- Significant improvement in transfection efficiency (4 times higher than PEI standards).
- Compatible with complex protocols and advanced applications, such as the production of functional retroviral vectors.
- Use of carbon-based nanoparticles, which guarantee cell viability and reduced toxicity.

Uses and Applications

The present invention is part of the biotechnology and biomedical sector:
• Gene delivery in research related to gene therapy.
• Gene overexpression on demand in general research on cellular processes dependent on specific genes.