The use of PAMAM dendrimers in the efficient transfer of genetic material into cells

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have steadily grown in popularity in the past decade in a variety of disciplines, ranging from materials science to biomedicine. This can be attributed in part to their use in applications that range from computer toners to medical diagnostics. PAMAM dendrimers are safe and nonimmunogenic, and can function as highly efficient cationic polymer vectors for delivering genetic material into cells. They have been shown to be as efficient or more efficient than either cationic liposomes or other cationic polymers (e.g. polyethylenimine, polylysine) for in vitro gene transfer. This article will focus on the application of PAMAM dendrimers as a nonviral gene delivery vector from the initial discovery of this capacity to the most recent experimental findings.