COLLOIDAL GOLD--A VECTOR FOR TARGETED GENE THERAPY

Not Available Electrophoresis is a well-known technique that has been used for the deposition of various polymers carrying ionizable groups (electrophores) and for the separation of biological molecules. In the proposed SBIR program, we plan to use an electrophoretic processing technique, which will be modified to suit the electrodeposition of polymers with bulk room-temperature ferromagnetic and conducting ploymers with high conductivity. This technique will use solutions/dispersions of the appropriate ploymers after being synthesized and modified in-house. The deposited ploymers will be characterized using the appropriate techniques that will help identify and determine ferromagnetic and electrical characteristics. Upon successful conclusion of Phase I (achieving a polymer with conductivity > 103 S/cm and a ferromagnetic polymer with a permeability > 6, Phase II will be pursued towards optimization of the modified electrophoresis setup, therefore, enhancing the very characteristics sought after in the two polymer systems, and process scale up. After demonstrating feasibility of this approach in Phase I and the subsequent optimization and characterization work in Phase II, the Phase III program will have large implications on the scientific and practical approach towards inducing conductivity or ferromagnetic properties with levels beyond those achieved in polymers thus far.