Advanced Vectors for Gene Delivery

Gene therapy is an important tool in the treatment of many diseases involving malfunctioning of deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA). Development of various techniques for efficiently transferring and expression of recombinant DNA or ribonucleic acid (RNA) at target site is a significant challenge. Viral vectors which have been used classically have a number of restrictions due to their induced toxicity and immunogenicity, the limited size of DNA that can be carried, the lack of specificity and the high cost of production. To overcome these problems nonviral vectors like nanoparticles, dendrimers, molecular conjugates, liposomes, microbubbles etc. are being explored. This review encompasses the details of these nonviral vectors.