DNA delivery into cells is a rapidly developing area in gene therapy and biotechnology. Moreover, it is a powerful research tool to determine gene structure, regulation, and function.

Viral methods of DNA delivery are well-characterized and efficient, but little is known about the toxicity and immunogenecity of viral vectors. As a result, non-viral, transfection methods of DNA delivery are of increasing interest.

Synthetic DNA Delivery Systems is a comprehensive and current resource on DNA transfection. The use of histidine-rich peptides and polypeptides as DNA delivery systems and self-assembled delivery systems based on cationic lipids and polymers are discussed. Targeted delivery to organelles, tumor cells and dendritic cells comprise an important topic.

Inhalt
I: Introduction; *D. Luo, W.M. Saltzman.*
II: Overcoming Cellular Barriers along the DNA Delivery Pathway. Outside of the cell: Supramolar assemblies of DNA delivery systems; Pitard. At the cell surface: Engineering the surface properties of synthetic gene delivery systems; Schaffer. Inside of the cell: Histidine containing peptides and polypeptides as nucleic acid vectors; Midoux. Intracellular targets for DNA delivery: nuclei and mitochondria; *Torchilin.*
III: Targeted DNA Delivery. Immune cells: Mannose receptor-mediated gene delivery into antigen presenting dendritic cells; Zenke. Muscle: Electro-gene-transfer: a new approach for muscle gene delivery; Toniatti. Tumor: Tumor-targeted gene transfer with DNA polyplexes; *Wagner.*
IV: Novel DNA Delivery Systems. Light: Photochemical transfection: a technology for efficient light directed gene delivery; Hogset. Ultrasound: Sonoportation: mechanical DNA delivery by ultrasonic cavitation; Miller, Greenleaf.