Controlling DNA–nanoparticle serum interactions

Kyryl Zagorovsky, Leo YT Chou, Warren CW Chan

PNAS November 29, 2016 113 (48) 13600-13605 | DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610028113

Abstract

DNA-mediated nanoparticle assembly is an emerging concept to design drug delivery vehicles that can modify their structure or function in response to the in vivo environment. However, better understanding of their interactions with different tissues and organs is needed to establish specific design criteria. Here, we perform a systematic investigation of the molecular properties and mechanisms responsible for serum degradation of DNA-assembled structures. We show that the degradation process is determined by the combined contributions of the surface chemistry of nanoparticles and their supramolecular arrangement. The results also present a strategy for using physiological fluid degradation as the mechanism of controlled drug release. Our findings provide a general framework to study biological interactions of DNA nanostructures.