A Rapid and Successful Method to Synthesis of Branched Poly(β-aminoester) As Gene Carrier System: Microwave-Assisted Polycondensation

Poly(β-amino ester)s (PBAEs) which are the efficient carriers for gene and drug delivery, synthesize by conventional polycondensation in a very long reaction time. The goal of this study is to shorten the reaction time without decreasing the efficacy of PBAE. For this purpose usability of microwave irradiation in the synthesis of the PBAE was investigated for the first time. The structural characterization of PBAE was realized using FTIR and 1H NMR, and its molecular weight was determined by the GPC-SEC. PBAE nanoparticles (nPBAEs) were also prepared and their physicochemical characteristics were determined. The transfection efficiency of nPBAE were determined on the Human Embryonic Kidney 293T (HEK293T) and Primary Ovine Fibroblast (POF) cells. All results were evaluated in comparison with those of the conventional product (PBAEc) as reference product. It was observed that both PBAE and PBAEc have same molecular structure and similar efficiency. This study revealed that PBAE was successfully synthesized by microwaves without decreasing its efficiency. When the synthesis of PBAE carried out by microwaves compared with conventional method, the reaction time and the consumed energy dramatically reduced from 48 h to 10 min and from 1.5 kWh to 0.032 kWh respectively