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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Design and Development of Aptamer–Gold Nanoparticle Based Colorimetric Assays for In-the-field Applications
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Gold nanoparticle design for RNA compaction.

Jessica A Nash1, Matthew D Manning1, Alexey V Gulyuk1

  • 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606.

Biointerphases
|November 2, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gold nanoparticles functionalized with cationic ligands can deliver double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) by bending it. Ligand length and nanoparticle size control this bending, crucial for gene delivery applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Nanotechnology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is promising for disease treatment but requires effective delivery vehicles due to its instability and charge.
  • Cationic ligand-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can compact and deliver nucleic acids, including dsRNA.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how nanoparticle properties influence dsRNA bending for improved gene delivery.
  • To elucidate the relationship between ligand length, nanoparticle size, and RNA compaction.

Main Methods:

  • Large-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were employed to model nanoparticle-dsRNA interactions.
  • Density functional theory (DFT) studies were used to support simulation findings on smaller model systems.

Main Results:

  • Nanoparticle ligand length, core size, and free volume critically control the bending of dsRNA below its persistence length.
  • Specific ligand binding within the RNA major groove, influenced by ligand length, dictates bending efficacy.
  • Induced dsRNA bending correlates with periodic variations in the RNA major groove width.

Conclusions:

  • Designing nanoparticles with controlled ligand length and limited free volume enables effective internal binding and dsRNA bending.
  • These findings have significant implications for nucleic acid packaging in nanotechnology and gene delivery systems.