Cationic Nanoemulsion Development Service
Cationic nanoemulsions (CNE) have attracted extensive attention from scientists as potential carriers for the efficient delivery of nucleic acids. As a leading service provider in the field of gene therapy, our company has successfully developed several strategies to provide customers with customized services of nanoemulsions for gene delivery. Our fast and convenient service will contribute to the development of gene therapy for rare diseases.
Background
CNE combine the use of nanoemulsions with cationic lipids with the ability to protect and efficiently deliver nucleic acids. These colloidal particles are thought to overcome some of the major problems associated with liposomes, such as preventing particle aggregation between DNA/cationic liposome complexes in the presence of biofluids. CNE designed to date use excipients such as DOTAP and DOTMA. It is considered worthwhile to prepare CNE with alternative excipients, which show good coagulation, effective cytosolic delivery, and low cytotoxicity.
Several research groups have evaluated CNE as an alternative to drug/gene delivery and have demonstrated its great potential in the field of gene therapy for rare diseases. As an example, nanoemulsions have been shown to act as gene delivery for mucopolysaccharidosis type I, allowing the creation of specific, effective therapeutics in MPS I and other lysosomal storage diseases. The development and characterization of CNE are therefore important for the advancement of gene therapy for rare diseases.
Fig. 1 Photomicrographs of nucleic acid/CNE complexes obtained by different microscopy techniques. (Teixeiraì H F, et al., 2017)
Our Services
Our researchers are committed to providing expert scientific services and technical support to help customers develop CNE-based delivery systems that can protect and carry nucleic acids to the site of action for a sufficient period of time. A successful formulation will be one that finds a balance among acceptable toxicity distribution, stability of oil/surfactant/water interactions, and transfection efficiency. Our experts prepare colloidal stable CNE through reasonable design and consideration of various formulation issues of CNE, including composition, excipient selection, and preparation methods to meet the current needs of gene therapy for rare diseases. Our services include, but are not limited to:
- Formulation of CNE
CNE are dispersions of the oil phase in the aqueous phase, usually stabilized by at least one cationic surfactant. We usually use binary mixtures of cationic lipids and phospholipids to improve the stability of formulations and optimize the charge ratio with nucleic acid in complexes. Our preparation methods include high- and low-energy methods.- High-energy methods include high-pressure homogenization, microfluidization, and ultrasonication. These methods are based on the use of mechanical devices (homogenizers, microfluidizers, or ultrasonic devices) that can generate high amounts of energy that form small oil droplets.
- Low-energy methods include thermal and isothermal methods. These methods are based on the characteristics of the system and its interfacial hydrodynamics mechanism.
- Optimization of CNE
We provide a variety of optimization strategies, such as the addition of PEG-containing surfactants or PEGylated lipids in DOPE-containing CNE, to improve transfection efficiency in vivo. We tailor our optimization strategies to the specific needs of our customers. - Development of nanoemulsion/pDNA complexes
We help customers prepare nanoemulsion/pDNA complexes by adsorption or encapsulation of preformed hydrophobic pDNA-cationic lipid complex into nanoemulsions. - Characterization of CNE
We provide various methodologies to determine the properties of nucleic acid-loaded CNE.- Measurement of particle size analysis and zeta potential
- Evaluation of the effect of lyophilization on particle size and polydispersity of CNE
- Evaluation of the complexation between CNE and DNA by gel electrophoresis
- Morphology and structural analysis of complexes
- Cell uptake assay by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry
Our deep expertise in cationic nanoemulsions allows us to help our customers tackle their challenges and accelerate the design and development of gene-delivery systems for the treatment of rare diseases. Our company can provide a full range of customized services according to the requirements of customers to meet their specific needs. Please contact us for more details and to get a formal quote.
Reference
- Teixeira, H. F.; et al. Cationic nanoemulsions as nucleic acids delivery systems. International journal of pharmaceutics, 2017, 534(1-2): 356-367.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.