A series
of linear polyester-based, α-cyclodextrin (CD)-threaded
polyrotaxanes (PRTx) were synthesized for siRNA delivery. The investigation
into the effect of the presence of polyester linkages in polyrotaxane
established the structural–activity relationship between polyrotaxane
and siRNA transfection efficiency. The ester-based polyrotaxane exhibited
higher threading efficiency than poly(ethylene glycol)-based polyrotaxane.
The threading efficiency is the driving force for transfection, as
it regulates the positive charge density on polyrotaxane. Polyester-based
polyrotaxane formed stable and effective transfection nanoplexes with
siRNA at lower N/P ratios, signifying the high gene loading capacity
of the developed supramolecular vectors. Our findings suggest that
biochemical properties of the transfection complexes depend on the
structure of the axis and threading efficiency of polyrotaxane, which
further influences the transfection efficiency. The enhanced gene
silencing efficiency and safety are compared with those of extensively
explored poly(ethylene glycol)-based polyrotaxane, polyethyleneimine
(a gold standard), and lipofectamine (a commercial standard), which
are used as siRNA delivery vectors.
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