Computable structured aptamer for targeted treatment of ovarian cancer

Nucleolin protein expression is higher on the ovarian cancer cell surface. AS1411, a DNA aptamer, can bind with nucleolin protein specifically. In this study, we developed HA and ST DNA tiles to assemble six AS1411 aptamers to deliver doxorubicin. In addition, to superior serum stability and drug loading, HA-6AS and ST-6AS outperformed TDN-AS in cellular uptake. HA-6AS and ST-6AS exhibited satisfactory targeted cytotoxicity and achieved resounding lysosomal escape. Moreover, when injected into nude mice subcutaneous xenograft models, HA-6AS reached the peak in tumor more quickly than ST-6AS, and better expressed the active targeting ability of AS1411. Our study suggests that designing appropriate DNA tiles to assemble different aptamers to deliver different chemotherapeutic drugs is a promising treatment for ovarian cancer.