ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Resolving the collapse mechanism of responsive block copolymer brushes for controlled gene delivery

Abstract: Gene therapy holds great promise for disease treatment, but vector stability and efficacy pose challenges. Polycationic brushes on nanoparticles have emerged as a solution, displaying high transfection efficiencies and stable RNA oligonucleotide capture. We've explored the mechanisms controlling complex dissociation during cytosol entry, allowing us to engineer polymer brush chemistry and nanostructure for controlled oligonucleotide release. This approach restricts molecular diffusion within polymer brushes, enhancing gene delivery vector stability, oligonucleotide retention, and controlled release, outperforming conventional lipid-based and non-brush polycationic systems. We propose to use NR to characterise the structure of block copolymer brush, PDMAEMA inner, and PNIPAM outer shells, facilitating efficient inner shell diffusion even at lower temperatures, confirmed by surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence microscopy data.

Principal Investigator: Dr Ali Zarbakhsh
Local Contact: Dr Mario Campana
Experimenter: Professor Julien Gautrot
Experimenter: Mr Carlos Eduardo Neri Cruz

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2410022

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2410022

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Ali Zarbakhsh et al; (2025): Resolving the collapse mechanism of responsive block copolymer brushes for controlled gene delivery, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2410022

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.