Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications

The development of DNA nanotechnology has enabled the creation of diverse nanomaterials with significant potential in biological applications, such as sensing or drug delivery. From DNA origami to wireframe nanostructures, several strategies have been developed to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics i...

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Main Authors: Sinan Faiad, Quentin Laurent, Jathavan Asohan, Tyler Brown, Alexander Prinzen, Hanadi Farouk Sleiman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-04-01
Series:Small Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400471
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author Sinan Faiad
Quentin Laurent
Jathavan Asohan
Tyler Brown
Alexander Prinzen
Hanadi Farouk Sleiman
author_facet Sinan Faiad
Quentin Laurent
Jathavan Asohan
Tyler Brown
Alexander Prinzen
Hanadi Farouk Sleiman
author_sort Sinan Faiad
collection DOAJ
description The development of DNA nanotechnology has enabled the creation of diverse nanomaterials with significant potential in biological applications, such as sensing or drug delivery. From DNA origami to wireframe nanostructures, several strategies have been developed to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics into cells. However, these self‐assembled structures suffer from poor stability in biological media due to low concentrations of divalent cations, degradation by nucleases, and thermal denaturation. Herein, a site‐specific crosslinking method based on thiol‐disulfide exchange to stabilize a wireframe DNA nanocube is developed. With nearly quantitative crosslinking yields, the structure retains its structural integrity in conditions that mimic physiological environments. This results in improved cellular uptake, likely due to more favorable interaction with cell‐surface scavenger receptors, followed by endocytosis. This study paves the way for in vivo applications of DNA wireframe nanostructures by removing one of the major bottlenecks for their translation from in vitro to preclinical work.
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spelling doaj-art-bc65c83d84bf4f6fbc5a0a9ea86d8ab52025-08-20T03:04:59ZengWiley-VCHSmall Science2688-40462025-04-0154n/an/a10.1002/smsc.202400471Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological ApplicationsSinan Faiad0Quentin Laurent1Jathavan Asohan2Tyler Brown3Alexander Prinzen4Hanadi Farouk Sleiman5Department of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaDepartment of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaDepartment of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaDepartment of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaDepartment of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaDepartment of Chemistry McGill University 801 Sherbrooke St West Montreal Québec H3A 0B8 CanadaThe development of DNA nanotechnology has enabled the creation of diverse nanomaterials with significant potential in biological applications, such as sensing or drug delivery. From DNA origami to wireframe nanostructures, several strategies have been developed to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics into cells. However, these self‐assembled structures suffer from poor stability in biological media due to low concentrations of divalent cations, degradation by nucleases, and thermal denaturation. Herein, a site‐specific crosslinking method based on thiol‐disulfide exchange to stabilize a wireframe DNA nanocube is developed. With nearly quantitative crosslinking yields, the structure retains its structural integrity in conditions that mimic physiological environments. This results in improved cellular uptake, likely due to more favorable interaction with cell‐surface scavenger receptors, followed by endocytosis. This study paves the way for in vivo applications of DNA wireframe nanostructures by removing one of the major bottlenecks for their translation from in vitro to preclinical work.https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400471cellular uptakecrosslinkingdisulfidesDNA nanotechnologyDNA nanocubesdynamic covalent chemistry
spellingShingle Sinan Faiad
Quentin Laurent
Jathavan Asohan
Tyler Brown
Alexander Prinzen
Hanadi Farouk Sleiman
Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
Small Science
cellular uptake
crosslinking
disulfides
DNA nanotechnology
DNA nanocubes
dynamic covalent chemistry
title Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
title_full Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
title_fullStr Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
title_full_unstemmed Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
title_short Site‐Specific Disulfide‐Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications
title_sort site specific disulfide mediated crosslinking of dna nanocubes for enhanced biological applications
topic cellular uptake
crosslinking
disulfides
DNA nanotechnology
DNA nanocubes
dynamic covalent chemistry
url https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400471
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