iPSCs
cannot be overlooked. While it does have a high efficiency the low effectiveness counterbalances this leading to no net difference to both being moderate, leading it to be deemed third best.
In second best is via polycistronic minicircle DNA nonviral vectors. High efficiency combined with high effectiveness allows for large amounts of iPSCs to be generated quickly. When this is combined with the low cost of this method it is a major advantage to this method. There is limited research done in this area compared to some other methods which also likely leads to the consequence of limited clinical applications due to not enough research on how to make the method safe. It loses out on first place due to what I deemed to be important factors according to a public opinion questionnaire. This was the ultimate factor that led to polycistronic minicircle DNA nonviral vectors being allocated as the second best method. All of these methods have areas in which they are most successful. Polycistronic minicircle DNA nonviral vectors and cytoplasmic RNA delivery are best for research purposes due to high efficiency and low cost. Limited clinical application means that they would be most useful for analysis of iPSCs. Oocyte reprogramming is better than the other methods for producing iPSCs with specific edited genes due to the ease of reprogramming the iPSCs generated with this method. Protein delivery has some of the best safety profiles due to no genetic information being used meaning that the risk to the patient is almost non-existent. This makes it a prime candidate for clinical application. On the basis of the criteria that have been set out and their weighting, episomal vectors is the best of the methods discussed. This method has a very low cost, has been extensively researched and has a greater number of clinical applications than other methods. Being low cost means that its use for research and for treatment is accessible to far more people than other methods. That also makes it ideal for research and investigation on large scale despite its efficiency and effectiveness drawbacks. The fact that it is well researched means that treatments can be applied knowing the likely side effects of the treatment and how to manage them. These factors combined make episomal vectors ideal for widespread treatment and research, not limited to wealthy countries or wealthy individuals.
Glossary
Word/Term
Meaning
iPSC
Induced Pluripotent stem cell
Pluripotent
Capable of giving rise to several different cell types
Somatic
Any cell of a living organism other than the reproductive cells
ES Cells
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst
Integrative
Inserting a substance into a cell
Cytoplasmic
Pertaining to the cytoplasm
Plasmid
A genetic structure in a cell that can replicate independently of the chromosomes, typically a small circular DNA strand
Oocyte
An immature ovum or egg cell
Sendai Virus
A parainfluenza virus which is used in the laboratory to produce cell fusion
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