Gene transfection of bioactive glass fibers

Bioactive glasses (BGs) exhibit potential applications for gene transfection because of their composition including Ca and P. Here, bioactive glass fibers (BGFs) with mesopores or hierarchical nanopores, were prepared by electrospinning process using BGs Sol-Gel precursor and its effect on mediating gene transfection was investigated. The results indicate that BGF acts as a gene vector by releasing Ca²⁺ and PO₄^3-, and then reunioning them along with plasmid DNA in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). BGFs have a dose-dependent manner in transfection efficiency. When using 1 μg/mL plasmid, the transfection efficiency of BGF with concentration at 1000 μg/mL is higher than 50% of lipofectamine LTX_PLUS. The transfection mechanism of BGF is similar to that of calcium phosphate (CaP) system. Furthermore, BGF's sufficient ions releasing ensures stability and effectiveness to be applied in gene transfection, which makes BGF a promising candidate for gene delivery in replace of traditional gene carrier, the nano-calcium phosphate system.