Lactose-modified DNA tile nanostructures as drug carriers

Silencing Breast Cancer Genes Using Morpholino Embedded DNA-Tile-AuNPs Nanostructures

There is an ongoing effort to increase the efficiency of gene delivery for the regulation of diseases-related genes. In this report, we demonstrate the efficiency of a DNA-based nanostructure to deliver morpholino antisense oligonucleotides for the upregulated genes in breast cancer as an alternative to the currently used delivery systems. A DNA-tile structure is constructed by embedding antisense oligonucleotides targeting the HER2 and ERα genes. Then, the sticky ends of the DNA-tile nanostructures are hybridized to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with the complementary oligonucleotides to enhance their cellular uptake. It is found that the morpholino antisense oligonucleotide embedded DNA-tile-AuNPs structure is 30% more effective than the liposome-based system to deliver morpholinos and induce gene silencing in breast cancer cells. The results of the study suggest that the prepared novel nanostructure is an effective and biocompatible carrier that can be used in in vitro gene silencing studies and can be further pursued in in vivo studies.

Aptamer-conjugated DNA nano-ring as the carrier of drug molecules

Due to its predictable self-assembly and structural stability, structural DNA nanotechnology is considered one of the main interdisciplinary subjects encompassing conventional nanotechnology and biotechnology. Here we have fabricated the mucin aptamer (MUC1)-conjugated DNA nano-ring intercalated with doxorubicin (DNR_A-DOX) as potential therapeutics for breast cancer. DNR_A-DOX exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity to the MCF-7 breast cancer cells than the controls, including DOX alone and the aptamer deficient DNA nano-ring (DNR) with doxorubicin. Interactions between DOX and DNR_A were studied using spectrophotometric measurements. Dose-dependent cytotoxicity was performed to prove that both DNR and DNR_A were non-toxic to the cells. The drug release profile showed a controlled release of DOX at normal physiological pH 7.4, with approximately 61% released, but when exposed to lysosomal of pH 5.5, the corresponding 95% was released within 48 h. Owing to the presence of the aptamer, DNR_A-DOX was effectively taken up by the cancer cells, as confirmed by confocal microscopy, implying that it has potential for use in targeted drug delivery.