| Summary: | Nonviral gene therapy-an emerging field with great clinical promise-avoids many problems associated with viral gene therapy and offers the possibility of superior clinical effectiveness. In Nonviral Vectors for Gene Therapy: Methods and Protocols, Mark A. Findeis has assembled a panel of active researchers to present their best methods not only for preparing, handling, and characterizing gene delivery agents, but also for gene delivery. To help those preparing and characterizing gene transfer agents, the contributors examine a broad range of compounds that bind with DNA to form the compact complexes that facilitate cellular delivery-among them peptide conjugates, synthetic polymers, and lipids. They also outline specific approaches to gene transfer in vivo, including direct delivery by intratumoral injection and indirect delivery by cell-specific targeting of DNA complexes, and discuss in detail many spectroscopic techniques for characterizing nonviral gene delivery agents. Opportunities for the development and application of these novel vectors in the research lab and eventually, in the clinic, are highlighted. Comprehensive and state-of-the-art, Nonviral Vectors for Gene Therapy: Methods and Protocols illuminates for today's investigators the powerful new approaches to the creation of nonviral materials, as well as their efficacious use in delivering therapeutic genes to patients across the spectrum of human disease.
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