Bohan Zhang

The simultaneous intracellular delivery of multiple types of payloads, such as hydrophobic drugs and nucleic acids, typically requires complex carrier systems. Herein, we demonstrate a self-deliverable form of nucleic acid-drug nanostructure that is composed almost entirely of payload molecules. Upon light activation, the nanostructure sheds the nucleic acid shell, while the core, which consists of prodrug molecules, disintegrates via an irreversible self-immolative process, releasing free drug molecules and small molecule fragments. We demonstrate that the nanostructures exhibit enhanced stability against DNase I compared with free DNA, and that the model drug (camptothecin) released exhibits similar efficacy as free, unmodified drugs toward cancer cells.

Significance Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) made thus far are inherently polydisperse due to variations in surface nucleic acid density, particle size, or both. In this article, we describe the synthesis and characterization of two types of molecular SNAs with precise numbers of surface DNA strands using T 8 polyoctahedral silsesquioxane and buckminsterfullerene C 60 scaffolds. The surface DNA densities for these molecular structures fall inside the range of typical SNAs, which allows them to exhibit SNA-related properties, including enhanced cellular uptake and the ability to function as a gene regulation agent. With a route to molecularly pure SNAs opened, it becomes possible to use them to unveil the molecular details of SNA interactions with complementary ligands and living systems.

Bacterial infections and cancer are two of the most significant concerns that the current healthcare system should tackle nowadays. Green nanotechnology is presented as a feasible solution that is able to produce materials with significant anticancer and antibacterial activity, while overcoming the main limitations of traditional synthesis. In the present work, orange, lemon and lime extracts were used as both reducing and capping agents for the green synthesis of tellurium nanoparticles (TeNPs) using a microwave-assisted reaction. TeNPs showed a uniform size distribution, and rod- and cubic-shapes, and were extensively characterized in terms of morphology, structure and composition using TEM, SEM, XPS, XRD, FTIR and EDX analysis. TeNPs showed an important antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and -positive bacteria in a range concentrations from 5 to 50 μg/mL over a 24-hour time period. Besides, nanoparticles showed anticancer effect towards human melanoma cells over 48 hours at concentrations up to 50 μg/mL. Moreover, the Te nanostructures showed no significant cytotoxic effect towards human dermal fibroblast at concentrations up to 50 μg/mL. Therefore, we present an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective synthesis of TeNPs using only fruit juices and showing enhanced and desirable biomedical properties towards both infectious diseases and cancer.