Synthetic polymeric vectors in gene therapy

The synthetic polymer vectors in gene therapy have opened a very prospective field for research in gene therapy and the area in the use of these synthetic polymers as vectors in targeting oncogenes is developing very fast. With the completion of Human Genome Project, the list of genetic targets is growing very fast. These diseases sparked the initiative to create such gene based therapeutics. The low levels of transfection and expression of the gene held non-viral methods are at a disadvantage; however, recent advances in vector technology have yielded molecules and techniques with transfection efficiencies, similar to those of viruses. Amongst these synthetic polymers, polyethylenimine (PEI) and the poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and poly(β-amino ester) are used extensively as vectors in gene therapy.