Real-time imaging of gene delivery and expression with DNA nanoparticle technologies

The construction of safe, efficient, and modifiable synthetic DNA nanoparticles is an emerging technology that has achieved important milestones of success in the past 5 years. Advances in chemical conjugation, purification, and controlled synthesis have allowed researchers to produce uniform and stable particles, whose physical characteristics can be well characterized and monitored. As a result of these improvements, DNA nanoparticles have now been cleared for clinical testing, and show good potential for human gene therapy. A very important recent development in the study of DNA nanoparticles is the use of small-animal imaging. Real-time imaging has become a valuable technique for tracking particle biodistribution and gene transfer efficacy. In this chapter, we discuss how bioluminescent, positron emission tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging can be used separately or in concert to study particle delivery, localization, and magnitude of gene expression in vivo.