Highly Efficient MicroRNA Delivery Using Functionalized Carbon Dots for Enhanced Conversion of Fibroblasts to Cardiomyocytes

INTRODUCTION: The reprogramming of induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) is of particular significance in regenerative medicine; however, it remains a great challenge to fabricate an efficient and safe gene delivery system to induce reprogramming of iCMs for therapeutic applications in heart injury. Here, we report branched polyethyleneimine (BP) coated nitrogen-enriched carbon dots (BP-NCDs) as highly efficient nanocarriers loaded with microRNAs-combo (BP-NCDs/MC) for cardiac reprogramming. METHODS: The BP-NCDs nanocarriers were prepared and characterized by several analytical techniques. RESULTS: The BP-NCDs nanocarriers showed good microRNAs-combo binding affinity, negligible cytotoxicity, and long-term microRNAs expression. Importantly, BP-NCDs/MC nanocomplexes led to the efficient direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into iCMs without genomic integration and resulting in effective recovery of cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI). CONCLUSION: This study offers a novel strategy to provide safe and effective microRNAs-delivery nanoplatforms based on carbon dots for promising cardiac regeneration and disease therapy.