Synthesis of lipopolyhydroxylalkyleneamines for gene delivery

Various bis(2-hydroxy-3-chloropropyl)alkylamines were synthesized by coupling primary amine with epichlorohydrin and utilized as a monomer to react with ethylenediamine (EDA), N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (DMEDA), or tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) to generate a series of lipopolyhydroxylalkyleneamines. The number- and weight-average molecular weight (Mn and Mw) and polydispersity index (Mw/Mn) of the lipopolyhydroxylalkyleneamines were dependent on reactant solvent and reaction temperature. The compounds with EDA as backbone have better transfection activity and lower toxicity than those with DMEDA and TMEDA as backbone.