Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Coatings for the Rapid and Tunable Contact Transfer of Plasmid DNA to Soft Surfaces

Abstract

We report the design and characterization of thin polymer-based coatings that promote the contact transfer of DNA to soft surfaces under mild and physiologically relevant conditions. Past studies reveal polymer multilayers fabricated using linear poly­(ethylene imine) (LPEI), poly­(acrylic acid) (PAA), and plasmid DNA promote contact transfer of DNA to vascular tissue. Here, we demonstrate that changes in the structure of the polyamine building blocks of these materials can have substantial impacts on rates and extents of contact transfer. We used two hydrogel-based substrate models that permit identification and manipulation of parameters that influence contact transfer. We used a planar gel model to characterize films having the structure (cationic polymer/PAA/cationic polymer/plasmid DNA) x fabricated using either LPEI or one of three poly­(β-amino ester)­s as polyamine building blocks. The structure of the polyamine influenced subsequent contact transfer of DNA significantly; in general, films fabricated using more hydrophilic polymers promoted transfer more effectively. This planar model also permitted characterization of the stabilities of films transferred onto secondary surfaces, revealing rates of DNA release to be slower than rates of release prior to transfer. We also used a three-dimensional hole-based hydrogel model to evaluate contact transfer of DNA from the surfaces of inflatable catheter balloons used in vascular interventions and selected a rapid-transfer coating for proof-of-concept studies to characterize balloon-mediated contact transfer of DNA to peripheral arterial tissue in swine. Our results reveal robust and largely circumferential transfer of DNA to the luminal walls of peripheral arteries using inflation times as short as 15 to 30 s. The materials and approaches reported here provide new and useful tools for promoting rapid, substrate-mediated contact transfer of plasmid DNA to soft surfaces in vitro and in vivo that could prove useful in a range of fundamental and applied contexts.

pH-Responsive Polyelectrolyte Coatings that Enable Catheter-Mediated Transfer of DNA to the Arterial Wall in Short and Clinically Relevant Inflation Times

“…Overall, the results of these model experiments demonstrate that significant amounts of contact-transfer can be achieved by the inflation of films coated with (LPEI/PAA/LPEI/DNA) 32 for times as short as 30 s. In the studies described below, we selected the two shortest balloon inflation times investigated here (2 min and 30 s) to characterize the potential of this balloon-mediated approach to promote the rapid transfer of DNA to arterial tissue in vivo. The results of broader studies to exploit this and other hydrogel-based models to discover and characterize the behaviors of other polyelectrolyte multilayer systems for the rapid contact transfer of DNA will be reported separately …”

“…The results of broader studies to exploit this and other hydrogel-based models to discover and characterize the behaviors of other polyelectrolyte multilayer systems for the rapid contact transfer of DNA will be reported separately. 66 Contact Transfer of DNA to Arterial Tissue in Rat and Pig Models of Arterial Injury. We demonstrated in a past study that balloon catheters coated with LPEI/PAA/LPEI/ DNA films can be used to promote contact-transfer of DNA to vascular tissue using a rat model of carotid artery injury and a balloon inflation time of 20 min.…”

Synthesis and Characteristics of Smart Coating Materials for Reversible Double Stimulus-Responsive Oil–Water Separation

“…Smart responsive polymers are characterized by the integration of multiple stimulus-response components into a cohesive structure, resulting in polymers endowed with intricate functions. − Thanks to their diverse and robust capabilities, these materials have captured considerable attention within the scientific community in recent decades. These stimulus-responsive polymers find versatile applications in emerging fields such as solar thermal energy storage, self-healing, shape memory, immunoassays, enzyme resuscitation, drug delivery, molecular sensing, thermoelectric materials, and oil–water separation. , …”