DOSAGE II: Final Exam

Question 1

What are the three applications of gene therapy?

Answer 1

1. gene replacement
2. gene inhibitors
3. gene vaccines

Question 2

What are two non-viral gene carriers?

Answer 2

1. lipids
2. polymers

*interact with plasmid DNA to form nanoparticles

Question 3

What is one advantage of using viral gene carriers?

Answer 3

high gene delivery efficiency

Question 4

What are two advantages of using non-viral gene carriers?

Answer 4

1. safer than viral systems
2. easy to modify

Question 5

What are five disadvantages of using viral gene carriers?

Answer 5

1. immune recognition/reaction
2. insertional mutagenesis - leading to malignancies
3. payload size limitation
4. negative perceptions by regulatory bodies and the public
5. lack of specificity

Question 6

What are two disadvantages of using non-viral gene carriers?

Answer 6

1. much less efficient gene delivery than viral systems
2. either high efficiency with high toxicity or low efficiency with safety

Question 7

What are three drug delivery nanoparticle systems and one example for each?

Answer 7

1. micelles (i.e. Taxol)
2. liposomes (i.e. Doxil)
3. protein nanoparticles (i.e. Abraxane)

Question 8

What are the two components of Taxol?

Answer 8

micelle: cremophor EL
drug carried in micelle: paclitaxel

Question 9

What are two issues with using cremophor EL?

Answer 9

1. needs special tubing b/c of potential to leach out plasticizers in IV tubing
2. hypersensitivity reactions

Question 10

What is a key difference between the structure of liposomes and micelles?

Answer 10

liposomes are a bilayer, micelles are not