Bacterially-derived, intact minicells that encompass plasmid-free functional nucleic acid for in vivo delivery to mammalian cells

Intact, bacterially-derived minicells can safely introduce therapeutically effective amounts of plasmid-free functional nucleic acid to target mammalian cells. To this end, functional nucleic acid can be packaged into intact minicells directly, without resort to expression constructs, the expression machinery of the host cell, harsh chemicals or electroporation.