Polysaccharide conjugates as bionanomaterials

Carbohydrates have several unique biofunctions that are useful for drug delivery systems. If one plans to utilize these functions, glyco-conjugate design and chemistry are important. Glyco-conjugate materials consisting of polymeric materials and polysaccharide for DDS were described. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) possess unique receptors that recognize and internalize hyaluronan (HA). We used this characteristic of HA and the unique assembling properties of comb-type polycations with DNA to develop a system for targeting foreign DNAs for LSECs. New comb-type copolymers composed of HA and PLL (PLL-g-HA) formed complexes with DNA, permitting specific targeting of DNAs to the LSECs. The PLL-g-HA gene carrier system may open a new and more effective strategy to treat intractable liver diseases through manipulation of LSECs functions by gene engineering.