Current status of ATRP-based materials for gene therapy

Gene therapy is an auspicious alternative to treat diseases. However, the design of efficient vectors remains as a challenge due to the innumerous intracellular and extracellular barriers that should be faced during the gene delivery process. Among some types of carries, polymeric gene vectors have gained increasingly attention. Aiming to improve the polymeric vectors' performance, several strategies have been applied such as diversification of the monomers, synthesis routes, polymers architecture, addition of specific targeting units, shielding domains, and inorganic nanoparticles. Besides, the use of controlled polymerization in the synthesis of these carries have led to improvements, especially ATRP, a very robust and versatile technique. Therefore, the aims of this review are summarizing the recent advances in gene vectors produced through ATRP; propose a division according to the main gene carries characteristics and strategies used to improve their performance; and also provide a critical analysis of the current and future perspectives on the use of ATRP in the synthesis of gene vectors. (AU)