Figure 3.

(a) CNCs are readily decorated with polycations (e.g., polyethylenimine, PEI), imparting a positive charge to their surface, which promotes the electrostatic (physical) binding of siRNA killer. These self-assembled nanoparticles are internalized by C2C12 myoblasts (b), resulting in gene editing, silencing the expression of cell cycle genes, and promoting apoptosisdriven cell death [87]. (c) Within 24–72 h, cell death becomes evident by the formation of debris (shown with arrows), which is more pronounced for CNC-PEI-siRNA complexes, similar to the commercial transfection reagent (HiPerFect, Qiagen). Carbohydr. Polym., 164: 258–267, Copyright (2017), with permission from Elsevier.