Cationic lipids are widely used as synthetic vectors for gene delivery. In this short review article we report the recent developments dedicated to the synthesis of synthetic cationic phospholipids and neutral phospholipids that are specially designed for gene delivery applications. These cationic lipids that make use of a phosphorylated functional group (phosphoramide, phosphate) as a cornerstone of their structure, possess two identical or different lipid chains bonded to the phosphorus functional group whereas the last valence on the phosphorus atom is used to attach a cationic or neutral polar head group. These vectors were successfully used for in vitro and in vivo transfection assays. The supramolecular packing of these amphiphilic compounds can be tuned by ramifying the lipid chains via thiol-ene click reactions; this allows an increased versatility of these cationic lipids. Interestingly, cationic lipids possessing a trimethylarsenium polar head group exhibited outstanding antibacterial properties.
