Ionic Liquid-Mediated Preparation of Noncytotoxic Hemocompatible Stable DNA-ε-Poly-L-lysine Polyplexes: A New Sustainable Approach for the Bulk Production of Potential Nonviral Vectors for Gene Delivery Applications

Nonviral vectors are gaining importance as gene delivery systems. However, to meet the large-scale applications, their sustainable production is of utmost importance. Hence, a cost-effective and one-pot strategy for their bulk production is desirable. Herein, a sustainable method for the facile production of nonviral gene vectors, using epsilon-poly-L-lysine and DNA, having the potential for gene delivery applications was developed using ionic liquids. The hemocompatible nanosized negatively charged polyplexes thus prepared were stable in aqueous media and were found to be noncytotoxic against human HeLa cells. The method developed produces no byproducts and, hence, has maximum atom economy, which is essential while considering it for bulk production. Further, the process is a single step and facilitated at room temperature (30 degrees C), which makes it energy efficient and cost-effective. Because of the ease of production, the method for the production of polyplexes reported herein may promote the bulk production of biopolymer-based nonviral vectors for advanced gene delivery applications.