Selective targeting and degradation of doxorubicin-loaded folate-functionalized DNA nanocages

Selective targeting is a crucial property of nanocarriers used for drug delivery in cancer therapy. We generated biotinylated octahedral DNA nanocages functionalized with folic acid through bio-orthogonal conjugation chemistry. Molecular modelling indicated that a distance of about 2.5 nm between folic acid and DNA nanocage avoids steric hindrance with the folate receptor. HeLa cells, a folate receptor positive tumour cell line, internalize folate-DNA nanocages with efficiency greater than 40 times compared to cells not expressing the folate receptors.

Source: Nanomedicine : Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine - February 17, 2018 Category: Nanotechnology Authors: Sofia Raniolo, Giulia Vindigni, Alessio Ottaviani, Valeria Unida, Federico Iacovelli, Antonio Manetto, Mariangela Figini, Lorenzo Stella, Alessandro Desideri, Silvia Biocca Source Type: research