PBIO SEMINAR SERIES

Designing non-viral gene delivery systems for neuron-specific delivery

Wednesday - March 21, 2007
06-07 Seminar Series

Suzie Pun
Assistant Professor Bioengineering, University of Washington
Speaker's website

Host: Chip Asbury

The ability to introduce exogenous nucleic acids to neurons is a powerful technique with applications in neurobiology research and in treatment of neurological disease. Non-viral gene delivery systems offer advantages of versatility in use and low immunogenicity but suffer from low delivery efficiencies. In this talk, I will describe our ongoing work in developing synthetic materials for neuron-targeted gene delivery. Materials that facilitate neuron-specific binding and more efficient intracellular trafficking will be discussed. In addition, spatially-controlled delivery to axons or soma using a compartmented microfluidic platform will be described.