Targeting of Drugs (Nato a S I Series Series a, Life Sciences)

Gene therapy, developed as an alternative to the use of therapeutic proteins, can be hampered by nuclease degradation of the plasmid DNA, its inability to access target cells, or - when within cells - to enter the nucleus and transfect these efficiently. This text deals with developments in circumventing the problems of direct plasmid administration by the use of viral or non-viral vectors, Representatives from both camps of therapy discuss the challenges and opportunities of the two approaches and present late-20th-century progress with a variety of constructs. These include viruses such as retroviruses, lentiviruses, poxviruses, alphavirus, herpevirus, and parvovirus. Non-viral constructs are represented by polycations, polymers, cationic liposomes and nanoparticles.