Self-Assembled Oligo-Urethane Nanoparticles: Their Characterization and Use for the Delivery of Active Biomolecules into Mammalian Cells.

Developing safe and effective strategies to deliver biomolecules such as oligonucleotides and proteins into cells has grown in importance over recent years, with an increasing demand for non-viral methods that enable clinical translation. Here, we investigate uniquely configured oligo-urethane nanoparticles based on synthetic chemistries that minimize the release of pro-inflammatory biomarkers from immune cells, show low cytotoxicity in a broad range of cells, and efficiently deliver oligonucleotides and proteins into mammalian cells. The mechanism of cell uptake for the self-assembled oligo-urethane nanoparticles was shown to be directed by caveolae-dependent endocytosis in murine myoblasts (CC) cells.