Characterization of an electrospun poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and block copolymer-based, nanostructured matrix for DNA delivery

While gene delivery represents a promising means of engineering biological tissue, many obstacles need to be overcome before the promise of the technology can be fulfilled. Chief among these obstacles is the development of non-viral gene delivery. The objectives of the present work were to fabricate and characterize the release properties of an electrospun DNA/polymer nanostructured membrane. Release of DNA from 1.5 × 1 cm² sections of membrane was assayed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and tris-EDTA solution (TE). The release profile of DNA from the membranes exhibited sustained release over an eight-day study period, with maximum release occurring at ∼ 2 hours. Cumulative release profiles were similar for release in TE and PBS, with amounts released being approximately 20-30% of the initially loaded DNA. One of the critical questions addressed by this study was the assessment of DNA integrity post-processing as determined by gel electrophoresis. Results indicate that DNA released from an electrospun membrane is indeed intact, and should be capable of cellular transfection. Future work on the project will be to increase and optimize the release of DNA from the membranes in preparation for in vitro and in vivo studies assessing transfection efficiency of released plasmid.