%0 Journal Article %T Reducible Poly (2-Dimethylaminoethyl) Methacrylate-Block-Polyvinylimidazole: Synthesis, Transfection Activity <i>in Vitro</i> %A Bozhang Yu %J Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology %P 118-124 %@ 2158-7043 %D 2012 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/jbnb.2012.31016 %X Reducible or imidazolyl polycations of block poly(imidazole/2-dimethyl aminoethyl) are of promising in gene delivery. Dimeric poly(2-dimethyl aminoethyl) methacrylate-block-polyvinylimidazole (rDPDMAEMAIM) and reducible poly (2-dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate (rDPDMAEMA) with single disulfide bond in the backbone was synthesized by oxidizing their dithioester-terminated polymers. The polyplexes sizes, rDPDMAEMAIM/pDNA and rDPDMAEMA/ pDNA (plasmid DNA) are in the ranges of 100 nm - 150 nm at the weight ratio of 12:1, and the zeta potential of rDPDMAEMAIM/pDNA from 9.6 mV to 22.7 mV in PBS solutions increases with their weight ratios of 1:1 to 18:1. The results show that the rDPDMAEMAIM/pDNA polyplexes have higher transfection activity and lower cytotoxicity than that of rDPDMAEMAIM/pDNA against 293T cells in vitro in the presence of serum, indicating that the PDMAEMAIM present a promising nonviral gene vector. %K Reducible Polymer %K Gene Expression %K Transfection %K Cytotoxicity %U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=17008