Current and future technological advances in transdermal gene delivery

Publication date: Available online 19 December 2017
Source:Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews
Author(s): Xianfeng Chen
Transdermal gene delivery holds significant advantages as it is able to minimize the problems of systemic administration such as enzymatic degradation, systemic toxicity, and poor delivery to target tissues. This technology has the potential to transform the treatment and prevention of a range of diseases. However, the skin poses a great barrier for gene delivery because of the "bricks-and-mortar" structure of the stratum corneum and the tight junctions between keratinocytes in the epidermis. This review systematically summarizes the typical physical and chemical approaches to overcome these barriers and facilitate gen delivery via skin for applications in vaccination, wound healing, skin cancers and skin diseases. Next, the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are discussed and the insights for future development are provided.

Graphical abstract

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