Table 1 The advantages and disadvantages of different types of nanoparticles for gene delivery
From: Recent progress of iron-based nanomaterials in gene delivery and tumor gene therapy
| Â | Nanoparticles | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
Organic NPs | Chitosan | Low immunogenicity; good biocompatibility; biodegradability | Low water solubility |
Lipid-based NPs | Composition-controllable; high loading capacity; low immunogenicity; hypotoxicity | Poor stability; phospholipids are easily oxidized and susceptible to the effects of metals, radiation, high temperature, pH, and enzymes; complex preparation process | |
Polymer NPs | Simple production process; structure controllable; functional diversity | Easy to bind with negatively charged non-specific cells or proteins; variable cytotoxicity; low gene transfection efficiency | |
Inorganic NPs | Gold NPs | High specific surface area; easy surface modification and multifunctionality; easy preparation and good stability; versatility in shape design | Unstable surface structure; easy aggregation |
QDs | Good optical stability and biocompatibility | High toxicity | |
Silica NPs | Adjustable pore size; easy synthesis and modification; high gene transfection efficiency; good biocompatibility | Metabolism | |
Carbon nanomaterials | Low immunotoxicity; high gene transfection efficiency; high load capacity | Potential biotoxicity | |
Iron-based NPs | Superparamagnetism; magnetic resonance imaging; magnetic transfection; magnetothermal therapy; | Complex preparation process; the vector alone does not have the ability of gene delivery, and surface modification is required |