Functional polymeric gene vectors

Safe and efficient gene delivery system is one of the most critical points for gene therapy. Polymeric nonviral gene carriers with good properties of safety, easy to design and inexpensive cost, have been utilized to deliver therapeutic genes in vivo. However, traditional polymers as gene vectors only have a few functions which can not meet gene therapy requirements, so it is necessary to decorate traditional polymer gene vectors and get an ideal gene delivery system with multifunction. This review focuses on the development and means of the modification of polymeric gene vectors making them have multifunction, i. e. the ability to maintain stability outside of cell, the ability of cell entrance, endosome escape, and the ability of nuclear membrane traversing. The main challenges remain and the future direction of polymeric vectors research are discussed.