Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

The present invention relates to vehicles for delivering macromolecules into cells. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to compounds and methods for binding and compacting nucleic acids into nanoparticles for transferring the polynucleotides into cells and which can be configured to provide a mechanism for visualization of the delivery vehicles on the nm/.mu.m scale by microscopy and on the sub-mm scale by magnetic resonance imaging. Polycations according to embodiments of the invention have been designed to contain repeated oligoethyleneamines, for binding and compacting nucleic acids into nanoparticles, and lanthanide (Ln) chelates (for example, using luminescent europium Eu.sup.3+ and paramagnetic gadolinium Gd.sup.3+). Preferred polymeric imaging beacons according to embodiments of the invention comprise repeating units of metal chelates within an oligoamine backbone, the repeating units comprising: ##STR00001## wherein n ranges from 2 to 10,000,000; M is a metal capable of exhibiting an imaging functionality for an imaging modality; and the oligoamine backbone comprises from 1 to 8 ethlyeneamines and is chosen from diethyleneamine, triethylenediamine, tetraethylenetriamine, pentaethylenetetraamine, hexaethylenepentamine, heptaethylenehexamine, octaethyleneheptamine or nonethyleneoctaamine. Especially preferred, are structures chelated with either Eu3+ or Gd3+ for microscopy or MRI imaging, respectively. Such chelated lanthanides allow for the visualization of the delivery vehicle both on the nm/.mu.m scale by way of microscopy and on the sub-mm scale using MRI.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim