Mannosylated self-assembled structures for molecular confinement and gene delivery applications

Area of Science:

• Bioconjugation Chemistry
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Biomimetic self-assembly is crucial for developing novel drug delivery systems.
• Designing stable yet responsive nanostructures remains a significant challenge in nanomedicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize self-assembled hollow spherical structures using lysine and biantennary mannose.
• To evaluate the encapsulation efficiency of these structures for biomolecules like enzymes and DNA.
• To assess the potential of these nanostructures for controlled release applications.

Main Methods:

• Self-assembly of lysine-biantennary mannose conjugate.
• Characterization of hollow spherical structures using electron microscopy.
• Encapsulation studies with alkaline phosphatase enzyme, plasmid DNA, and GFP reporter gene.
• In vitro transfection studies in COS-7 cells.
• Disruption studies using mild sonication.

Main Results:

• Successful self-assembly of lysine-biantennary mannose conjugate into hollow spherical supramolecular structures.
• Demonstrated effective encapsulation of alkaline phosphatase, plasmid DNA, and GFP reporter gene.
• Confirmed successful transfection of encapsulated GFP reporter gene into COS-7 cells.
• Showcased controlled release of encapsulated cargo upon mild sonication.

Conclusions:

• Lysine-biantennary mannose conjugates self-assemble into functional hollow nanostructures.
• These nanostructures exhibit excellent potential for encapsulating and delivering biomolecules.
• The stimuli-responsive nature of the structures suggests utility in targeted drug and gene delivery systems.