User:Kirktk/sandbox

I will be focused on expanding Gene Delivery from a stub to a more fully formed article. This will involve reorganizing and rewriting parts of the current version so the article may have a more fully formed explanation for its subject. Several processes crucial in understanding Gene Delivery already have more fully formed articles on Wikipedia such as Transfection, which at one point had information from the Gene Delivery page merged into it, and Viral Transformation. As a result, my goal for the article is to serve as an easy gateway to these pages while explaining their context in Gene Delivery without too much information overlap. From here, I want expand on the necessary principles of Gene Delivery that make it a term which encompasses the various different forms of viral and non-viral transfection. Finally, the most interesting part of Gene Delivery, namely it's extremely promising future in science and medicine, will be explored within it's own section that categorizes the various new forms of gene delivery that are currently in a jumbled list at the bottom of the current article. I will also elaborate on the difference between somatic cell gene delivery and germline cell gene delivery

OLD VERSION

Gene delivery is the process of introducing foreign DNA into host cells. Gene delivery is, for example, one of the steps necessary for gene therapy and the genetic modification of crops. There are many different methods of gene delivery developed for a various types of cells and tissues, from bacterial to mammalian. Generally, the methods can be divided into two categories, non-viral and viral.

Non-viral methods include physical methods such as electroporation, microinjection, gene gun, impalefection, hydrostatic pressure, continuous infusion, and sonication and chemical, such as lipofection. It can also include the use of polymeric gene carriers (polyplexes).

Virus mediated gene delivery utilizes the ability of a virus to inject its DNA inside a host cell. A gene that is intended for delivery is packaged into a replication-deficient viral particle. Viruses used to date include retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus and herpes simplex virus. However, there are drawbacks to using viruses to deliver genes into cells. Viruses can only deliver very small pieces of DNA into the cells, it is labor-intensive and there are risks of random insertion sites, cytophathic effects and mutagenesis.

Non-Viral
Non-viral methods include physical methods such as electroporation, microinjection, gene gun, impalefection, hydrostatic pressure, continuous infusion, and sonication and chemical, such as lipofection. It can also include the use of polymeric gene carriers (polyplexes).

Viral
Virus mediated gene delivery utilizes the ability of a virus to inject its DNA inside a host cell. Transduction is the process through which DNA is injected into the host cell and inserted into it's genome. In gene therapy a gene that is intended for delivery is packaged into a replication-deficient viral particle to form a viral vector(cite e txtbook). Viruses used for gene therapy to date include retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus and herpes simplex virus. However, there are drawbacks to using viruses to deliver genes into cells. Viruses can only deliver very small pieces of DNA into the cells, it is labor-intensive and there are risks of random insertion sites, cytophathic effects and mutagenesis.

Gene Therapy
Several of the methods used to facilitate gene delivery in nature and research have applications for therapeutic purposes. Gene therapy utilizes gene delivery to deliver genetic material with the goal of treating a disease or condition in the cell. Gene delivery in therapeutic settings utilizes non-immunogenic vectors capable of cell specificity that can deliver an adequate amount of transgene expression to cause the desired effect.