Gene Delivery Vectors and Physical Methods: Present and Future Trends

Dear Colleagues,

The past few decades have witnessed the evolution of gene medicine from an experimental technology into a viable strategy for developing therapeutics for a wide range of disorders.

One of the significant advantages of nucleic acid drugs over currently available low-molecular-weight pharmaceuticals is their selective recognition of molecular targets and pathways, which imparts tremendous specificity of action. Nucleic acid therapeutics have been extensively used to generate therapeutic proteins (e.g., pDNA, mRNA) and to eliminate disease-causing proteins (e.g., siRNA, miRNA, ASOs). More recently, the CRISPR/Cas system and its predecessors, TALENs and ZFNs, have generated excitement for new and improved gene therapies.

Despite such potential, therapeutic success still largely depends on the development of safe and effective ways to deliver nucleic acids within targeted cells. Gene delivery technologies are therefore in the limelight. They are broadly classified into two groups: vector-based and physical methods. No one technology can be applied to all cells and all experimental set-ups. The ideal approach must be selected depending on the cell type and experimental needs, must be as effective as possible, display low (cyto)toxicity and minimal effects on physiology, and be easy to use and reproducible.

Moreover, high-throughput technologies—that is, a reliable tool for pre-clinical testing and further improvement of gene delivery vectors and/or nucleic acid drugs—continue to be developed.

Below is an inclusive, but not exhaustive, list of various technologies that this Special Issue will cover:

• Non-viral gene delivery vectors;
• Viral gene delivery vectors;
• Electroporation technology;
• Sonoporation technology;
• Photoporation technology;
• Magnetofection technology;
• Hydroporation technology;
• Biolistic or gene gun technology;
• High-throughput gene delivery technologies.

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Candiani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.