Investigation of DNA Condensing Properties of Amphiphilic Triblock Cationic Polymers by Atomic Force Microscopy

Nathalie Lidgi (1, 2) , Christine Guis (3) , Blandine Brissault (4) , Antoine Kichler (5, 6) , Christian Leborgne (6) , Daniel Scherman (5) , Sid Labdi (2) , Patrick A. Curmi (1)

1 SABNP - Structure et activité des biomolécules normales et pathologiques
2 LEMN - Laboratoire d'étude des milieux nanométriques
3 LAMBE - Laboratoire Analyse et Modélisation pour la Biologie et l'Environnement
4 ICMPE - Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris-Est
5 UPCGI - UMR 8151 / UMR_S 1022 - Unité de pharmacologie chimique et génétique et d'imagerie
6 Généthon

Introduction of nucleic acids into cells is an important biotechnology research field which also holds great promise for therapeutic applications. One of the key steps in the gene delivery process is compaction of DNA into nanometric particles. The study of DNA condensing properties of three linear cationic triblock copolymers poly(ethylenimine-bpropylene glycol-b-ethylenimine), namely, LPEI50-PPG36-LPEI50, LPEI19-PPG36-LPEI19, and LPEI14-PPG68-LPEI14, indicates that proper DNA condensation is driven by both the charge and the size of the respective cationic hydrophilic linear polyethylenimine (LPEI) and neutral hydrophobic poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) parts. Atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the interactions of the triblock copolymers with plasmid DNA at the single molecule level and to enlighten the mechanism involved in DNA condensation.

Keywords: DNA condensation; AFM

Domains: Chemical Sciences; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Engineering Sciences [physics]

Nathalie Lidgi, Christine Guis, Blandine Brissault, Antoine Kichler, Christian Leborgne, et al.. Investigation of DNA Condensing Properties of Amphiphilic Triblock Cationic Polymers by Atomic Force Microscopy. Langmuir, 2010, 26 (22), pp.17552-17557. ⟨10.1021/la103066c⟩. ⟨hal-03151245⟩