Observation of DNA/carrier complexes under fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

In water, plasmids take on a rather relaxed, elongated conformation, with a diameter of micrometers, which makes it difficult for cells to efficiently internalize the giant molecule (Zhou et al. 1994). Polycations or cationic lipids,which are used as non-viral vectors for gene therapy, condense plasmid molecule into a compact particle through electrostatic interactions as well as chemical effects such as hydrophobic interactions. The size and form of the resulting complex strongly affects the transfection efficiency. Thus, in non-viral gene therapy, it is important to examine the morphology of DNA complexes in order to achieve better results.