DNA nanotubes as combinatorial vehicles for cellular delivery

This work explores using self-assembled DNA nanostructures as carriers for drug delivery. We have recently developed an organic nanotube system that is assembled from a single component: a 52-base-long DNA single strand. In this work, functional agents (folate as a cancer cell target agent and Cy3 as a fluorescence imaging agent) are conjugated with the DNA strands; the conjugates self-assemble into micrometers-long nanotubes (NTs). The conjugated DNA-NTs can be effectively taken by cancer cells as demonstrated by fluorescence imaging and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. No obvious toxicity has been observed under current experimental conditions.