The potential for gene therapy for cancer is enormous, but the lack of safe and effective gene delivery systems limits its clinical application.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a highly promising non-viral gene delivery vector, but it is toxic and lacks targeting.

Recently, Prof. Chen Xin's team from Wuhan University of Light Industry (WULI) published their research results entitled “Creation of biomimetic polyethylenimine quantum dots nanocomposites for traceable and targeted DNA delivery” in Journal of Molecular Liquids, in which PEI molecules were converted into organic quantum dots (PQDs) by hydrothermal method. The research result entitled “Creation of biomimetic polyethylenimine quantum dots nanocomposites for traceable and targeted DNA delivery” was published in the Journal of Molecular Liquids, in which PEI molecules were converted into organic quantum dots (PQDs) by hydrothermal method, which not only effectively deliver DNA into cells, but also exhibit their own fluorescence properties, thus allowing them to trace the DNA delivery process.