Natural Biopolymers in Gene Therapy Delivery

Effective delivery of therapeutic genes to target cells is an essential goal of all innovative gene therapy endeavours and recombinant vaccine technology. Current use of viral vectors in achieving this goal has been associated with minimal success and plethora of unwanted adverse events. As a result, there is an ongoing search for suitable vector platforms for the delivery of therapeutic genes to target cells. Such agent should be easily manipulated to accommodate small and large gene inserts and safely deliver Transgenes. This will ensure effective expression of the gene in target cells. The resulting optimal expression of this gene may correct defective or deficient gene in individuals receiving gene therapy. This chapter examines the applications of biopolymers as non-viral gene delivery vectors either alone or as copolymers.