Co-delivery of siRNA and etoposide to cancer cells using an MDEA esterquat based drug delivery system.

Cancer has become the leading cause of death in many countries. Chemotherapy is a key component in the treatment of most cancers but has limited efficacy if the cancer develops resistance to the treatment over time and recur. RNA interference may be used to reduce the production of the proteins responsible for chemotherapeutic resistance. Small interfering RNAs (siRNA) may be used to induce RNA interference but the application of these to cancer cells is hampered by poor serum stability and delivery to their cytoplasmic site of activity.