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The effect of chemical modification of hyaluronic acid (HA) on its distribution throughout the body was successfully visualized in nude mice through real-time bioimaging using quantum dots (QDots). Adipic acid dihydrazide modified HA (HA-ADH) was synthesized and conjugated with QDots having carboxyl terminal ligands activated with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide. The formation of HA-QDot conjugates could be confirmed by gel permeation chromatography, fluorometry, transmission electron microscopy, and ζ-size analysis. According to the real-time bioimaging of HA-QDot conjugates after subcutaneous injection to nude mice, the fluorescence of HA-QDot conjugates with a near infrared wavelength of 800 nm could be detected up to 2 months, whereas that with an emission wavelength of 655 nm disappeared almost completely within 5 days. The results can be ascribed to the fact that near-infrared light has a high penetration depth of about 5–6 cm in the body compared to that of about 7–10 mm for visible light. Thereby, using QDots with a near-infrared emission wavelength of 800 nm, the distribution of HA-QDot conjugates throughout the body was bioimaged in real-time after their tail-vein injection into nude mice. HA-QDot conjugates with 35 mol% ADH content maintaining enough binding sites for HA receptors were mainly accumulated in the liver, while those with 68 mol% ADH content losing much of HA characteristics were evenly distributed to the tissues in the body. The results are well matched with the fact that HA receptors are abundantly present in the liver with a high specificity to HA molecules. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 89: 1144–1153, 2008. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online” date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com

A novel target specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery system was successfully developed using polyethyleneimine (PEI)-hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugate. Anti-PGL3-Luc siRNA was used as a model system suppressing the PGL3-Luc gene expression. The siRNA/PEI-HA complex with an average size of ca. 21 nm appeared to be formed by electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged siRNA and the positively charged PEI of PEI-HA conjugate. The cytotoxicity of siRNA/PEI-HA complex to B16F1 cells was lower than that of siRNA/PEI complex according to the MTT assay. When B16F1 and HEK-293 cells were treated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled siRNA/PEI-HA complex, B16F1 cells, with a lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1), showed higher green fluorescent intensity than HEK-293 cells because of the HA receptor mediated endocytosis of the complex. Accordingly, the PGL3-Luc gene silencing of anti-PGL3-Luc siRNA/PEI-HA complex was more efficient in B16F1 cells than in HEK-293 cells. In addition, the inhibited PGL3-Luc gene silencing effect in the presence of free HA in the transfection medium revealed that siRNA/HA-PEI complex was selectively taken up to B16F1 cells via HA receptor mediated endocytosis. All these results demonstrated that the intracellular delivery of anti-PGL3-Luc siRNA/PEI-HA complex could be facilitated by the HA receptor mediated endocytosis.