Targeted Delivery of Interleukin-12 Plasmid into HepG2 cells through Folic Acid Conjugated Graphene Oxide Nanocarrier

Abstract Background Successful gene therapy relies on carriers to transfer genetic materials with high efficiency and low toxicity in a targeted manner. To improve targeted cell binding and uptake, we developed and synthesized a new gene delivery vector based on graphene oxide (GO) modified by branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) and folic acid (FA). Methods and Results The GO-PEI-FA nanocarriers exhibit less toxicity as compared to the unmodified PEI, as well as having potential efficacy in compressing and protecting pDNA. Interestingly, by increasing the polymer content in the polyplex formulation, the plasmid transfer ability increased. Graphene oxide substitution of PEI at N/P:10 on HepG2 cell line, improved hIL-12 expression by up to around eight folds relative to the simple PEI, which is 2-fold higher than Go-PEI-FA on Hek293 at the same N/P ratio. Conclusions Hence, the GO-PEI-FA described in this study might introduce as a targeting nanocarrier for delivery of hIL-12 plasmid into the cells overexpressing folic acid receptors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma.