What does Dotap stand for?

Interestingly, most of these are composed of lipid plus immune stimulator. Cationic lipids (such as 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane [DOTAP]) have been used as antigen carriers for cancer vaccines and showed effective adjuvant activity by themselves [18–21].

What is the purpose of Lipofection?

Lipofection, also known as “lipid transfection” or “liposome-based transfection,” uses a lipid complex to deliver DNA to cells. Lipids are a broad class of fat-soluble biomolecules, such as fats, oils, and waxes.

What are Lipoplexes?

Gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach for the treatment or prevention of acquired and genetic diseases. The complexes they form with DNA are defined as “lipoplexes” or “polyplexes, respectively, and constitute the most promising alternative to the use of viral vectors for gene therapy.

What is mammalian transfection?

Mammalian cell transfection is a technique commonly used to express exogenous DNA or RNA in a host cell line (for example, for generating RNAi probes). There are many different ways to transfect mammalian cells, depending on the cell line characteristics, desired effect, and downstream applications.

What is the process of transfection?

What is transfection? Broadly defined, transfection is the process of artificially introducing nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) into cells, utilizing means other than viral infection.

What are the steps of transfection?

Chemical-mediated transfection

  • encapsulation of genetic material with transfection reagent.
  • Cellular uptake of nanoparticles.
  • Release into the cytosol and if needed transport into the nucleus for transcription.

What are Lipoplexes and Polyplexes?

Lipoplexes and polyplexes are colloidal suspensions or complexes of DNA condensed with cationic lipids and polymers, respectively, which have shown significant instability in the extracellular compartment of the body.

What organisms are used in gene therapy?

To achieve this goal, delivery vectors for the gene transfer are needed. Viral vectors derived from retroviruses, adenoviruses, poxviruses, parvoviruses and herpesviruses belong to the most frequently used.

How is Lipoplex formed?

The formation of the lipoplex is a spontaneous process; the positive charge of the polar head group of the cationic lipid binds through charge-charge interactions with the negative charge of the DNA strand and thus condenses the DNA.

How does cell type affect DOTAP transfection efficiency?

Our findings show that the transfection efficiency of DOTAP liposomes is mainly influenced by lipid composition and cell type, and not by size or zeta potential. Keywords: Gene therapy; Liposomes; Transfection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

How is DOTAP used as a liposomal reagent?

DOTAP is a cationic lipid widely used as a liposomal transfection reagent and it has recently been identified as a strong activator of the innate immune system in animal cells. Plants are sessile organisms and unlike mammals, that have innate and acquired immunity, plants possess only innate immunity.

How are Dope and DOTAP weight ratios determined?

Four liposome formulations with different 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane (DOTAP) to dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) weight ratios were investigated, that is, weight … The effects of lipid compositions on their physicochemical properties and transfection efficiencies were investigated.