{
  "abstract": "The development of efficient and biocompatible polymeric vectors remains a cornerstone of successful gene therapy. In this study, we developed a versatile polymeric platform for nucleic acid delivery by synthesizing a series of cationic block copolymers based on polyaspartamide or polyglutamide backbones and polyethylene glycol (PEG) segments. Block copolymer precursors were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization. The degrees of polymerization were confirmed via 1H NMR spectroscopy, followed by functionalization with diethylenetriamine, spermine, or spermidine. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the WST-1 assay in HEK293 and SH-SY5Y cells. Cytotoxicity profiling identified N3-PEG114-b-pAsp(DET)62 as the least cytotoxic polymer among the tested derivatives in both cell lines. The polyplexes enhanced reporter gene expression compared with naked plasmid DNA, and an N/P ratio of 15 was selected for subsequent comparative experiments. In SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, the material obtained following the dopamine-modification procedure exhibited a 1.78-fold increase in reporter fluorescence and a 1.75-fold increase in the percentage of GFP-positive cells compared with the corresponding unmodified formulation. These findings establish the engineered block copolymers as highly adaptable, low-toxicity, and efficient candidates for targeted nucleic acid delivery and support the potential of dopamine functionalization for enhancing delivery to dopamine-receptor-expressing cells.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Laboratory for Chemical Design of Bionanomaterials, Faculty of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 117234 Moscow, Russia",
    "Faculty of Chemistry, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen 518100, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nikita A. Kozyrev",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2679-610X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alexey V. Doroshchenko",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2264-4478"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anna D. Lapanik",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-9847-4609"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Natalia L. Klyachko",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9357-8236"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anton V. Lopukhov",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3517-505X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy3fhrd4de6ac.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18212671",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cy3fhrd4de6ac",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2671",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|RNA Interference and Gene Delivery"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224076621",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy3fhrd4de6ac.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18212671",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2671"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|RNA Interference and Gene Delivery",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Influence of Polymer Backbone Architecture and Amino Group Density on the Cytotoxicity and Transfection Performance of Cationic Block Copolymer Polyplexes",
  "title_text": "Influence of Polymer Backbone Architecture and Amino Group Density on the Cytotoxicity and Transfection Performance of Cationic Block Copolymer Polyplexes",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy3fhrd4de6ac",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}