Gene delivery to the heart by magnetic nanobeads

Gene delivery with non-viral gene vectors to the cardiovascular system suffers from low transfection efficiency. In this study, magnetic fields were investigated to assist cardiovascular gene delivery via magnetic nanobeads both in vitro and in vivo. The magnetic field was provided with a 1120 mT Nd–Fe–B permanent magnet while complexes of poly-ethyleneimine (PEI) and various DNA plasmids were conjugated with magnetic nanobeads (MNB) using a Sulfo-NHS-LC-Biotin linker. In vitro results showed that transfection in two cell lines was 30–80-fold higher in magnetically conjugated MNB/PEI/DNA complexes than transfection from PEI/DNA complexes alone. Similarly, in vivo results using mouse models showed 72 h after injection observable gene expression in the heart with conjugated MNB/PEI/DNA complexes, but barely with PEI/DNA complexes alone.