Sequence-specific cellular uptake of spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 11213593
  • Patent Number
    11,213,593
  • Date Filed
    Friday, November 20, 2015
    8 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 4, 2022
    2 years ago
  • CPC
  • Field of Search
    • US
    • 435 006100
    • 435 006120
    • 435 091100
    • 435 091310
    • 435 455000
    • 435 458000
    • 514 0440A0
    • 536 023100
    • 536 024500
    • CPC
    • C12N15/88
    • C12N15/1131
    • C12N15/113
    • C12N2310/14
    • C12N2310/50
    • C12N2320/30
    • A61K31/713
    • A61K31/7088
  • International Classifications
    • A61K47/69
    • C12N15/88
    • A61K9/51
    • A61K47/54
    • Term Extension
      257
Abstract
Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), consisting of densely packed, highly oriented polynucleotide strands attached to the surface of nanoparticles, are able to overcome the typical challenges of nucleic acid delivery. The present disclosure demonstrates that G-rich SNAs exhibit several-fold higher uptake into cells relative to SNAs rich in other nucleotides. This disclosure provides an effective strategy to maximize the intracellular delivery of SNAs, which is applicable to other nanoparticle systems, thus establishing an important design consideration for nanoparticle-based intracellular delivery of therapeutics.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

This application contains, as a separate part of the disclosure, a Sequence Listing in computer-readable form which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and identified as follows: Filename: 2014-183_Seqlisting.txt; 10,070 bytes, created Nov. 20, 2015.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is directed to spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanoparticles surface-functionalized with a polynucleotide and a nucleotide sequence that affects the uptake of the SNA nanoparticle by a cell.


BACKGROUND

Spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates (SNAs) are a class of bionanomaterials that exhibit fundamentally different properties compared to linear nucleic acids. SNAs are composed of highly oriented oligonucleotide strands that are densely packed onto the surface of a nanoparticle core [Cutler et al., J Am Chem Soc 134: 1376-1391 (2012)]. Unlike single-stranded DNAs, SNAs can naturally enter mammalian cells without the aid of cationic or lipophilic transfection agents despite their high negative charge [Rosi et al., Science 312: 1027-1030 (2006)]. The robust cellular uptake properties of SNAs offer the potential for the development of intracellular diagnostic [Seferos et al., J Am Chem Soc 129: 15477-15479 (2007)] and gene regulation [Giljohann et al., J Am Chem Soc 131: 2072-2073 (2009)] tools without the toxicity or immune responses traditionally associated with cationic or lipophilic agents [Massich et al., Mol Pharm 6: 1934-1940 (2009)]. Indeed, the ability of SNAs to regulate genes of interest in vitro and in vivo has been demonstrated [Zheng et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 109: 11975-11980 (2012); Jensen et al., Sci Transl Med 5, 209ra152 (2013)].


Mechanistic studies have identified class A scavenger receptors (SR-A) as the primary cellular receptors responsible for the recognition of such structures, and the binding of SNAs to SR-A leads to caveolae-mediated endocytosis [Choi et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 110: 7625-7630 (2013)]. Linear nucleic acids enriched in guanylic acid (G) are naturally recognized by SR-A, which has been proposed to be due to their ability to fold into secondary structures known as G-quadruplexes [Pearson et al., J Biol Chem 268: 3546-3554 (1993)]. In contrast, linear polymers of adenylic acid (A), thymidylic acid (T), and cytidylic acid (C) do not fold into secondary structures that are recognized by SR-A, and as such, they are not natural ligands [Pearson et al., J Biol Chem 268: 3546-3554 (1993)].


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Due to their multivalent architecture, the cellular interaction of SNAs is dependent not only on size of the nanostructure, but also on ligand presentation [Giljohann et al., Nano Lett 7: 3818-3821 (2007)]. Without being bound to theory, it is contemplated that SNAs are able to enter cells without ancillary transfection agents because the SNA architecture mimics this secondary structure formation. Additionally, the present disclosure provides that oligonucleotide sequence plays an important role in the interaction of SNAs with SR-A and subsequent cellular uptake.


Accordingly, provided herein is a nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide and a domain, the domain (i) situated at the terminus of the polynucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle and (ii) comprising a nucleotide sequence that is at least 50% but less than 100% guanylic acid. In some embodiments, the domain is located at the 5′ terminus of the polynucleotide. In further embodiments, the domain is located at the 3′ terminus of the polynucleotide. In still further embodiments, the domain is located at an internal region within the polynucleotide. The domain, in various embodiments, is from about 2 to about 50 nucleotides in length. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide is DNA. In further embodiments, the polynucleotide is RNA. In still further embodiments, the domain comprises at least three (GGX) motifs. In some embodiments, X is a deoxyribonucleotide or a ribonucleotide. In some embodiments, X is adenylic acid, thymidylic acid, uridylic acid, or cytidylic acid. In some embodiments, X is guanylic acid. In some embodiments, X is not guanylic acid. In further embodiments, X is a modified nucleotide.


In some embodiments, the nanoparticle is functionalized with an additional polynucleotide. In further embodiments, the additional polynucleotide comprises a domain. In some embodiments, the additional polynucleotide is DNA. In further embodiments, the additional polynucleotide is RNA.


In various embodiments, the domain comprises a poly guanylic acid (poly G) nucleotide sequence comprising more than one guanylic acid. In further embodiments, the domain comprises a poly guanylic acid (poly G) sequence comprising two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty guanylic acid nucleotides.


In some aspects, the disclosure also provides a method of increasing cellular uptake of a polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle comprising the step of modifying the nanoparticle to further comprise a domain that increases cellular uptake of the oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle compared to the polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle lacking the domain. In some embodiments, the domain comprises a poly guanylic acid (poly G) nucleotide sequence comprising more than one guanylic acid. In further embodiments, the domain comprises a poly G sequence comprising two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty guanylic acid nucleotides. In some embodiments, the domain is located at the 5′ terminus of the polynucleotide. In some embodiments, the domain is located at the 3′ terminus of the polynucleotide. In still further embodiments, the domain is located at an internal region within the polynucleotide. In some embodiments, the domain is colinear with the polynucleotide. In various embodiments, the polynucleotide is DNA. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide is RNA.


It is contemplated that any of the methods of the disclosure are performed with a polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle as disclosed herein.


In further aspects of the disclosure, a nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide is provided, wherein the distal end of the polynucleotide terminates in a sequence comprising at least three (GGX) motifs. In some embodiments, the at least three (GGX) motifs are located on the 5′ end of the polynucleotide. In further embodiments, the at least three (GGX) motifs are located on the 3′ end of the polynucleotide. In some embodiments, X is a deoxyribonucleotide, and in further embodiments, X is a ribonucleotide. In still further embodiments, X is adenylic acid, thymidylic acid, uridylic acid, or cytidylic acid. It is also contemplated by the disclosure that in some embodiments, X is a modified nucleotide.


In various embodiments, the nanoparticle is functionalized with an additional polynucleotide. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is DNA. In further embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is RNA. In still further embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is siRNA.


In any of the aspects or embodiments of the disclosure, the SNA has a net negative charge.


In some aspects, the disclosure provides a method of increasing cellular uptake of a polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle comprising the step of modifying the polynucleotide such that the distal end of the polynucleotide (i.e., the end opposite the end that is functionalized to the nanoparticle) terminates in a sequence comprising at least three (GGX) motifs, wherein uptake of the polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle comprising the modification is increased compared to a polynucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle lacking the modification. In some embodiments, the at least three (GGX) motifs are located on the 5′ end of the polynucleotide. In further embodiments, the at least three (GGX) motifs are located on the 3′ end of the polynucleotide. In additional embodiments, the nanoparticle is functionalized with an additional polynucleotide. In related embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is DNA. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is RNA. In further embodiments, the polynucleotide and/or the additional polynucleotide is siRNA. In some embodiments, the cell is a prokaryotic cell. In further embodiments, the cell is a eukaryotic cell. In related embodiments, the eukaryotic cell is a human cell.


The disclosure also provides methods, in some embodiments, wherein the polynucleotide comprises a sequence sufficiently complementary to a target polynucleotide sequence to hybridize to the target polynucleotide sequence under appropriate conditions. In further embodiments, the additional polynucleotide comprises a sequence sufficiently complementary to a target polynucleotide sequence to hybridize to the target polynucleotide sequence under appropriate conditions. In related embodiments, the hybridizing results in detection of the target polynucleotide. In still further embodiments, the hybridizing results in inhibition of target gene expression.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES


FIGS. 1a-1b show the characterization of SNAs. 1a) The table lists the loading of oligonucleotides on a 10 nm gold nanoparticle using a fluorescence-based assay. Poly T SNAs contain the highest loading among all nucleobase types, whereas poly A SNAs have the lowest. 1b) Staining of SNAs by uranyl acetate clearly delineates the DNA oligonucleotide shell (white) around the gold nanoparticle core (black) by TEM imaging. The thickness of the shell correlates with the oligonucleotide loading data obtained from the fluorescence-based assay. Scale bar=50 nm.



FIG. 2 depicts dynamic light scattering analysis. Covalent attachment of oligonucleotide strands composed of different nucleobase types onto the surface of 10 nm AuNPs increases the hydrodynamic diameter by 10-15 nm, indicating a thickness of 5-8 nm for the oligonucleotide shell.



FIG. 3 shows UV-Vis absorption spectra of SNAs. Covalent attachment of the DNA oligonucleotide shell to the AuNP core causes a red shift in the surface plasmon peak, from 519 nm for unmodified citrate-capped AuNPs to 524 nm, independent of the nucleobase type comprising the shell.



FIGS. 4a-4b depict the measurement of oligonucleotide loading. 4a) Cy5-labeled SNAs were used to quantify the loading of poly A, poly T, poly C, and poly G SNAs. Reduction of the Au-thiol bond by the addition of 1 M dithiothreitol (DTT) releases Cy5-labeled, single-stranded DNA (Cy5-ssDNA) from the surface of the AuNP and allows for quantification by Cy5 fluorescence. 4b) The Cy5 moiety is attached to the 5′ end of the constituent oligonucleotides.



FIGS. 5a-5c depict cellular uptake of SNAs. 5a) Poly G SNAs show the highest association with C166 cells, 4-10 times higher than SNAs composed of other nucleobase types. 5b) By TEM imaging, poly G SNAs exhibit the highest accumulation inside C166 cells, as evidenced by their widespread distribution throughout the cytosol as large clusters (>100 per clusters). By contrast, SNAs composed of other nucleobase types either accumulate in more confined regions of the cytosol or appear in clusters that contain fewer particles (<20 particles per cluster). The bottom row features enlarged images of the boxed regions of the top row. 5c) Poly G SNAs also demonstrate the highest association with three other cell lines beside C166, including, in descending order of expression level for SR-A, HaCaT (immortal human keratinocyte), 3T3 (mouse fibroblast), and A549 (human lung epithelial adenocarcinoma). For all cell types, poly G SNAs exhibit 3-5 times higher association with cells than SNAs of other nucleobase types. Association of poly G SNAs with cells positively correlates with the expression level of SR-A for the same cell types. Error bars denote the standard deviation from triplicate measurements.



FIGS. 6a-6b shows the dependence of uptake on the poly G shell. 6a) By confocal microscopy, poly G QD-SNAs (red) show higher accumulation in C166 cells compared to T-rich QD-SNAs. Scale bar=10 μm. 6b) ICP-MS analysis of the gold and cadmium content in C166 cells treated with T-rich AuNP-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs as well as T-rich QD-SNAs and poly G AuNP-SNAs shows that poly G AuNP-SNAs preferentially enter cells compared to T-rich QD-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs preferentially enter cells compared to T-rich AuNP-SNAs. Error bars denote the standard deviation from three independent experiments.



FIGS. 7a-7d depict that length of the oligonucleotide strand affects cellular uptake of SNAs. 7a) Increased guanylic acid (G) content at the 5′ end of constituent oligonucleotides increases cellular association of SNAs with C166 cells. A minimum of four GGT repeating units is necessary to enhance cellular association of SNAs when compared to poly T (T30) SNAs. 7b) Burial of the GGT repeating units in the middle of the constituent oligonucleotides negates the enhancement in cellular association. The sequence shown by open squares is SEQ ID NO: 27. The sequence shown by open triangles is SEQ ID NO: 28. All other sequences are described herein. 7c) Increasing dSpacer units (which do not have a nucleobase) at the 5′ end of constituent DNA oligonucleotides reduces cellular association of SNAs up to 75%. 7d) Increasing C3 Spacer units (which have neither a nucleobase nor a ribose) at the 5′ end of constituent DNA oligonucleotides reduces cellular association of SNAs up to 75%. Error bars denote the standard deviation from triplicate measurements.



FIGS. 8a-8f depict delivery of camptothecin molecules using CPT-SNAs. 8a) The —OH group of the camptothecin molecule (CPT) is modified by a short bifunctional linker to form camptothecin azide (CPT-N3) by literature precedent [Parrish et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 18: 263-267 (2006)]. CPT-N3 is then coupled to dibenzocyclooctyl-DNA-thiol (DBCO-DNA-SH) by copper-free click chemistry to form camptothecin-DNA-thiol (CPT-DNA-SH). DCC=N′N′-dicyclohexocarbodiimide, DMAP=4-dimethylaminopyridine, CH2Cl¬2=dichloromethane, DMSO=dimethyl sulfoxide. 8b) Measurements based on the fluorescence emission of CPT at 440 nm revealed that CPT-SNAs of all four nucleobase types contain 55±15 CPT molecules per particle. 8c) By ICP-MS analysis of the gold content of the A549 cells treated with CPT-SNAs, CPT-poly G SNAs can enter cells in highest quantities among all nucleobase types tested. The CPT-SNAs (at least the AuNP core) do not seem to leave the cells after the treatment. Error bars denote the standard deviation from triplicate measurements. 8d) By confocal imaging, CPT-poly G SNAs can deliver CPT molecules (green) into A549 cells in highest quantities among CPT-SNAs of all nucleobase types tested. Blue=nucleus. Scale bar=20 μm. By the MTT assay (8e) and flow cytometry analysis supported by propidium iodide staining (8f), CPT-poly G SNAs are also most cytotoxic among CPT-SNAs of all nucleobase types tested. Error bars denote the standard deviation from four measurements.



FIGS. 9a-9d depict the synthesis of CPT-DNA-SH. 9a) 1H NMR of camptothecin-azide (CPT-N3). 9b) By MALDI-ToF analysis, the molecular weight of the DNA strand increases by the expected amount after modification with a dibenzocyclooctyl tetraethylene glycol linker (DBCO-TEG; F.W.: 570.6; Glen Research). The molecular weight of DBCO-DNA-SH further increases by the expected amount upon reaction with CPT-N3 (F.W.: 487.5) by copper-free click coupling to form CPT-DNA-SH. Shown here are the representative spectra for the conjugation of A30 DNA with DBCO and CPT. 9c) Molecular weights measured by MALDI-ToF MS agree with the expected molecular weights. 9d) Sequence information of the four types of CPT-DNA-SH strands (also shown in Table 4).



FIG. 10 shows cell viability by MTT assay. Without CPT molecules, poly A SNAs, poly T SNAs, poly C SNAs, and poly G SNAs show no appreciable cytotoxicity after 4-7 days by MTT assay on A549 cells treated with 20 nM SNAs. This negative control showed that any observable cytotoxicity induced by CPT-SNAs stems from the CPT molecule, not the SNA architecture. Reported values represent mean±SE from the average of three independent experiments.



FIG. 11 shows ELISA results for detecting activated caspase 3. Upon treatment of A549 cells with various types of CPT-SNAs, CPT-(GGT)10 SNAs induce significantly higher activation of caspase 3, an apoptotic signaling protein, than CPT-A30 SNAs, CPT-T30 SNAs, and CPT-(CCT)10 SNAs. Reported values represent mean±SE from the average of three independent experiments.



FIG. 12 demonstrates that poly G SNAs show higher cellular association with C166 cells than poly A, poly T, and poly C SNAs.



FIG. 13 shows the cellular uptake of SNAs.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), consisting of densely packed, highly oriented oligonucleotide strands attached to the surface of nanoparticles, are able to overcome the typical challenges of nucleic acid delivery. SNAs have been shown to effectively enter 50 different cell types without the use of auxiliary transfection agents and exhibit minimal cytotoxicity. Recently, the mechanism of endocytosis of these structures was shown to be dependent on class A scavenger receptors (SR-A). The present disclosure is directed to exploiting the interactions of SR-A with poly(guanylic acid) oligonucleotide strands, by constructing SNAs whose constituent oligonucleotide strands are rich in guanylic acid (G), will maximize the uptake of SNAs into cells.


Accordingly, the present disclosure demonstrates the utility of an oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle, wherein the oligonucleotide further comprises a domain which modulates cellular uptake. As used herein, a “domain” is understood to be a sequence of nucleobases. Modified nucleobases as defined herein are also contemplated to make up a domain as provided herein. A domain is in one aspect collinear with an oligonucleotide functionalized on a nanoparticle. In another aspect, the domain is associated directly with the nanoparticle, absent association with an oligonucleotide functionalized on the nanoparticle. In still another aspect, the domain is associated with the nanoparticle through a spacer, and absent association with an oligonucleotide functionalized on the nanoparticle. In other words, the domain is in some embodiments associated with the nanoparticle through a spacer, separate from any association with an oligonucleotide (in such embodiments, therefore, the spacer does not comprise nucleobases).


As used herein, the term “nucleotide” takes on its ordinary meaning in the art. Thus, e.g., “A”=adenylic acid, “T”=thymidylic acid, “C”=cytidylic acid, “G”=guanylic acid, and“U”=uridylic acid, and “U”=uridylic acid.


It is noted here that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.


As used herein, the term “polynucleotide,” either functionalized on a SNA or as a target molecule, is used interchangeably with the term oligonucleotide and the terms have meanings accepted in the art.


It is further noted that the terms “attached”, “conjugated” and “functionalized” are also used interchangeably herein and refer to the association of an oligonucleotide or domain with a nanoparticle.


“Hybridization” means an interaction between two or three strands of nucleic acids by hydrogen bonds in accordance with the rules of Watson-Crick DNA complementarity, Hoogstein binding, or other sequence-specific binding known in the art. Hybridization can be performed under different stringency conditions known in the art.


As used herein, a “poly X” domain (where “X” is a nucleotide, such as guanylic acid) is a sequence that comprises greater than 50% but less than 100% of “X” over its length. By way of example, a poly guanylic acid (poly G) domain that is 30 nucleotides in length consists of at least 15 (but less than 30) guanylic acid nucleotides. Thus, as used herein, a “poly X” domain is not a homopolymeric sequence.


Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are provided which are functionalized to have a polynucleotide attached thereto. In general, nanoparticles contemplated include any compound or substance with a high loading capacity for a polynucleotide as described herein, including for example and without limitation, a metal, a semiconductor, a liposomal particle, insulator particle compositions, and a dendrimer (organic versus inorganic).


Thus, nanoparticles are contemplated which comprise a variety of inorganic materials including, but not limited to, metals, semi-conductor materials or ceramics as described in US patent application No 20030147966. For example, metal-based nanoparticles include those described herein. Ceramic nanoparticle materials include, but are not limited to, brushite, tricalcium phosphate, alumina, silica, and zirconia. Organic materials from which nanoparticles are produced include carbon. Nanoparticle polymers include polystyrene, silicone rubber, polycarbonate, polyurethanes, polypropylenes, polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyesters, polyethers, and polyethylene. Biodegradable, biopolymer (e.g. polypeptides such as BSA, polysaccharides, etc.), other biological materials (e.g. carbohydrates), and/or polymeric compounds are also contemplated for use in producing nanoparticles. Liposomal particles, for example as disclosed in PCT/US2014/068429 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) are also contemplated. Hollow particles, for example as described in U.S. Patent Publication Number 2012/0282186 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) are also contemplated herein.


In one embodiment, the nanoparticle is metallic, and in various aspects, the nanoparticle is a colloidal metal. Thus, in various embodiments, nanoparticles useful in the practice of the methods include metal (including for example and without limitation, gold, silver, platinum, aluminum, palladium, copper, cobalt, indium, nickel, or any other metal amenable to nanoparticle formation), semiconductor (including for example and without limitation, CdSe, CdS, and CdS or CdSe coated with ZnS) and magnetic (for example, ferromagnetite) colloidal materials. Other nanoparticles useful in the practice of the invention include, also without limitation, ZnS, ZnO, Ti, TiO2, Sn, SnO2, Si, SiO2, Fe, Fe+4, Ag, Cu, Ni, Al, steel, cobalt-chrome alloys, Cd, titanium alloys, AgI, AgBr, HgI2, PbS, PbSe, ZnTe, CdTe, In2S3, In2Se3, Cd3P2, Cd3As2, InAs, and GaAs. Methods of making ZnS, ZnO, TiO2, AgI, AgBr, HgI2, PbS, PbSe, ZnTe, CdTe, In2S3, In2Se3, Cd3P2, Cd3As2, InAs, and GaAs nanoparticles are also known in the art. See, e.g., Weller, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 32, 41 (1993); Henglein, Top. Curr. Chem., 143, 113 (1988); Henglein, Chem. Rev., 89, 1861 (1989); Brus, Appl. Phys. A., 53, 465 (1991); Bahncmann, in Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (eds. Pelizetti and Schiavello 1991), page 251; Wang and Herron, J. Phys. Chem., 95, 525 (1991); Olshaysky, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112, 9438 (1990); Ushida et al., J. Phys. Chem., 95, 5382 (1992).


In practice, methods of increasing cellular uptake and inhibiting gene expression are provided using any suitable particle having oligonucleotides attached thereto that do not interfere with complex formation, i.e., hybridization to a target polynucleotide. The size, shape and chemical composition of the particles contribute to the properties of the resulting oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle. These properties include for example, optical properties, optoelectronic properties, electrochemical properties, electronic properties, stability in various solutions, magnetic properties, and pore and channel size variation. The use of mixtures of particles having different sizes, shapes and/or chemical compositions, as well as the use of nanoparticles having uniform sizes, shapes and chemical composition, is contemplated. Examples of suitable particles include, without limitation, nanoparticles particles, aggregate particles, isotropic (such as spherical particles) and anisotropic particles (such as non-spherical rods, tetrahedral, prisms) and core-shell particles such as the ones described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/034,451, filed Dec. 28, 2002 and International application no. PCT/US01/50825, filed Dec. 28, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.


Methods of making metal, semiconductor and magnetic nanoparticles are well-known in the art. See, for example, Schmid, G. (ed.) Clusters and Colloids (VCH, Weinheim, 1994); Hayat, M. A. (ed.) Colloidal Gold: Principles, Methods, and Applications (Academic Press, San Diego, 1991); Massart, R., IEEE Transactions On Magnetics, 17, 1247 (1981); Ahmadi, T. S. et al., Science, 272, 1924 (1996); Henglein, A. et al., J. Phys. Chem., 99, 14129 (1995); Curtis, A. C., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 27, 1530 (1988). Preparation of polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles prepared is described in Fattal, et al., J. Controlled Release (1998) 53: 137-143 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,055. Methods for making nanoparticles comprising poly(D-glucaramidoamine)s are described in Liu, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2004) 126:7422-7423. Preaparation of nanoparticles comprising polymerized methylmethacrylate (MMA) is described in Tondelli, et al., Nucl. Acids Res. (1998) 26:5425-5431, and preparation of dendrimer nanoparticles is described in, for example Kukowska-Latallo, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1996) 93:4897-4902 (Starburst polyamidoamine dendrimers)


Suitable nanoparticles are also commercially available from, for example, Ted Pella, Inc. (gold), Amersham Corporation (gold) and Nanoprobes, Inc. (gold).


Also as described in US patent application No 20030147966, nanoparticles comprising materials described herein are available commercially or they can be produced from progressive nucleation in solution (e.g., by colloid reaction), or by various physical and chemical vapor deposition processes, such as sputter deposition. See, e.g., HaVashi, (1987) Vac. Sci. Technol. July/August 1987, A5(4):1375-84; Hayashi, (1987) Physics Today, December 1987, pp. 44-60; MRS Bulletin, January 1990, pgs. 16-47.


As further described in US patent application No 20030147966, nanoparticles contemplated are produced using HAuCl4 and a citrate-reducing agent, using methods known in the art. See, e.g., Marinakos et al., (1999) Adv. Mater. 11: 34-37; Marinakos et al., (1998) Chem. Mater. 10: 1214-19; Enustun & Turkevich, (1963) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 85: 3317. Tin oxide nanoparticles having a dispersed aggregate particle size of about 140 nm are available commercially from Vacuum Metallurgical Co., Ltd. of Chiba, Japan. Other commercially available nanoparticles of various compositions and size ranges are available, for example, from Vector Laboratories, Inc. of Burlingame, Calif.


Nanoparticles can range in size from about 1 nm to about 250 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 240 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 230 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 220 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 210 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 200 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 190 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 180 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 170 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 160 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 150 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 140 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 130 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 120 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 110 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 100 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 90 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 80 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 70 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 60 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 50 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 40 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 30 nm in mean diameter, or about 1 nm to about 20 nm in mean diameter, about 1 nm to about 10 nm in mean diameter. In other aspects, the size of the nanoparticles is from about 5 nm to about 150 nm (mean diameter), from about 5 to about 50 nm, from about 10 to about 30 nm, from about 10 to 150 nm, from about 10 to about 100 nm, or about 10 to about 50 nm. The size of the nanoparticles is from about 5 nm to about 150 nm (mean diameter), from about 30 to about 100 nm, from about 40 to about 80 nm. The size of the nanoparticles used in a method varies as required by their particular use or application. The variation of size is advantageously used to optimize certain physical characteristics of the nanoparticles, for example, optical properties or the amount of surface area that can be functionalized as described herein.


Oligonucleotides

The term “nucleotide” or its plural as used herein is interchangeable with modified forms as discussed herein and otherwise known in the art. In certain instances, the art uses the term “nucleobase” which embraces naturally-occurring nucleotide, and non-naturally-occurring nucleotides which include modified nucleotides. Thus, nucleotide or nucleobase means the naturally occurring nucleobases A, G, C, T, and U. Non-naturally occurring nucleobases include, for example and without limitations, xanthine, diaminopurine, 8-oxo-N6-methyladenine, 7-deazaxanthine, 7-deazaguanine, N4,N4-ethanocytosin, N′,N′-ethano-2,6-diaminopurine, 5-methylcytosine (mC), 5-(C3-C6)-alkynyl-cytosine, 5-fluorouracil, 5-bromouracil, pseudoisocytosine, 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-tr-iazolopyridin, isocytosine, isoguanine, inosine and the “non-naturally occurring” nucleobases described in Benner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,272 and Susan M. Freier and Karl-Heinz Altmann, 1997, Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 25: pp 4429-4443. The term “nucleobase” also includes not only the known purine and pyrimidine heterocycles, but also heterocyclic analogues and tautomers thereof. Further naturally and non-naturally occurring nucleobases include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,808 (Merigan, et al.), in Chapter 15 by Sanghvi, in Antisense Research and Application, Ed. S. T. Crooke and B. Lebleu, CRC Press, 1993, in Englisch et al., 1991, Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 30: 613-722 (see especially pages 622 and 623, and in the Concise Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, J. I. Kroschwitz Ed., John Wiley & Sons, 1990, pages 858-859, Cook, Anti-Cancer Drug Design 1991, 6, 585-607, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety). In various aspects, polynucleotides also include one or more “nucleosidic bases” or “base units” which are a category of non-naturally-occurring nucleotides that include compounds such as heterocyclic compounds that can serve like nucleobases, including certain “universal bases” that are not nucleosidic bases in the most classical sense but serve as nucleosidic bases. Universal bases include 3-nitropyrrole, optionally substituted indoles (e.g., 5-nitroindole), and optionally substituted hypoxanthine. Other desirable universal bases include, pyrrole, diazole or triazole derivatives, including those universal bases known in the art.


Modified nucleotides are described in EP 1 072 679 and WO 97/12896, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Modified nucleobases include without limitation, 5-methylcytosine (5-me-C), 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, 2-aminoadenine, 6-methyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 2-propyl and other alkyl derivatives of adenine and guanine, 2-thiouracil, 2-thiothymine and 2-thiocytosine, 5-halouracil and cytosine, 5-propynyl uracil and cytosine and other alkynyl derivatives of pyrimidine bases, 6-azo uracil, cytosine and thymine, 5-uracil (pseudouracil), 4-thiouracil, 8-halo, 8-amino, 8-thiol, 8-thioalkyl, 8-hydroxyl and other 8-substituted adenines and guanines, 5-halo particularly 5-bromo, 5-trifluoromethyl and other 5-substituted uracils and cytosines, 7-methylguanine and 7-methyladenine, 2-F-adenine, 2-amino-adenine, 8-azaguanine and 8-azaadenine, 7-deazaguanine and 7-deazaadenine and 3-deazaguanine and 3-deazaadenine. Further modified bases include tricyclic pyrimidines such as phenoxazine cytidine(1H-pyrimido[5,4-b][1,4]benzoxazin-2(3H)-one), phenothiazine cytidine (1H-pyrimido[5,4-b][1,4]benzothiazin-2(3H)-one), G-clamps such as a substituted phenoxazine cytidine (e.g. 9-(2-aminoethoxy)-H-pyrimido[5,4-b][1,4]benzox-azin-2(3H)-one), carbazole cytidine (2H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indo1-2-one), pyridoindole cytidine (H-pyrido[3′,2′:4,5]pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one). Modified bases may also include those in which the purine or pyrimidine base is replaced with other heterocycles, for example 7-deaza-adenine, 7-deazaguanosine, 2-aminopyridine and 2-pyridone. Additional nucleobases include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,808, those disclosed in The Concise Encyclopedia Of Polymer Science And Engineering, pages 858-859, Kroschwitz, J. I., ed. John Wiley & Sons, 1990, those disclosed by Englisch et al., 1991, Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 30: 613, and those disclosed by Sanghvi, Y. S., Chapter 15, Antisense Research and Applications, pages 289-302, Crooke, S. T. and Lebleu, B., ed., CRC Press, 1993. Certain of these bases are useful for increasing the binding affinity and include 5-substituted pyrimidines, 6-azapyrimidines and N-2, N-6 and 0-6 substituted purines, including 2-aminopropyladenine, 5-propynyluracil and 5-propynylcytosine. 5-methylcytosine substitutions have been shown to increase nucleic acid duplex stability by 0.6-1.2° C. and are, in certain aspects combined with 2′-O-methoxyethyl sugar modifications. See, U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,808, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,845,205; 5,130,302; 5,134,066; 5,175,273; 5,367,066; 5,432,272; 5,457,187; 5,459,255; 5,484,908; 5,502,177; 5,525,711; 5,552,540; 5,587,469; 5,594,121, 5,596,091; 5,614,617; 5,645,985; 5,830,653; 5,763,588; 6,005,096; 5,750,692 and U.S Pat. No. 5,681,941, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.


Methods of making polynucleotides of a predetermined sequence are well-known. See, e.g., Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2nd ed. 1989) and F. Eckstein (ed.) Oligonucleotides and Analogues, 1st Ed. (Oxford University Press, New York, 1991). Solid-phase synthesis methods are preferred for both polyribonucleotides and polydeoxyribonucleotides (the well-known methods of synthesizing DNA are also useful for synthesizing RNA). Polyribonucleotides can also be prepared enzymatically. Non-naturally occurring nucleobases can be incorporated into the polynucleotide, as well. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,833; Katz, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 74:2238 (1951); Yamane, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 83:2599 (1961); Kosturko, et al., Biochemistry, 13:3949 (1974); Thomas, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 76:6032 (1954); Zhang, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127:74-75 (2005); and Zimmermann, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124:13684-13685 (2002).


Nanoparticles provided that are functionalized with a polynucleotide, or a modified form thereof, and a domain as defined herein, generally comprise a polynucleotide from about 5 nucleotides to about 100 nucleotides in length. More specifically, nanoparticles are functionalized with a polynucleotide that is about 5 to about 90 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 80 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 70 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 60 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 50 nucleotides in length about 5 to about 45 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 40 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 35 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 30 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 25 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 20 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 15 nucleotides in length, about 5 to about 10 nucleotides in length, and all polynucleotides intermediate in length of the sizes specifically disclosed to the extent that the polynucleotide is able to achieve the desired result. Accordingly, polynucleotides of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, about 125, about 150, about 175, about 200, about 250, about 300, about 350, about 400, about 450, about 500 or more nucleotides in length are contemplated.


In some embodiments, the polynucleotide attached to a nanoparticle is DNA. When DNA is attached to the nanoparticle, the DNA is in some embodiments comprised of a sequence that is sufficiently complementary to a target region of a polynucleotide such that hybridization of the DNA oligonucleotide attached to a nanoparticle and the target polynucleotide takes place, thereby associating the target polynucleotide to the nanoparticle. The DNA in various aspects is single stranded or double-stranded, as long as the double-stranded molecule also includes a single strand region that hybridizes to a single strand region of the target polynucleotide. In some aspects, hybridization of the oligonucleotide functionalized on the nanoparticle can form a triplex structure with a double-stranded target polynucleotide. In another aspect, a triplex structure can be formed by hybridization of a double-stranded oligonucleotide functionalized on a nanoparticle to a single-stranded target polynucleotide.


In some embodiments, the disclosure contemplates that a polynucleotide attached to a nanoparticle is RNA. In some aspects, the RNA is a small interfering RNA (siRNA).


Oligonucleotides, as defined herein, also includes aptamers. In general, aptamers are nucleic acid or peptide binding species capable of tightly binding to and discreetly distinguishing target ligands [Yan et al., RNA Biol. 6(3) 316-320 (2009), incorporated by reference herein in its entirety]. Aptamers, in some embodiments, may be obtained by a technique called the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process [Tuerk et al., Science 249:505-10 (1990), U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,163, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,459, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety]. General discussions of nucleic acid aptamers are found in, for example and without limitation, Nucleic Acid and Peptide Aptamers: Methods and Protocols (Edited by Mayer, Humana Press, 2009) and Crawford et al., Briefings in Functional Genomics and Proteomics 2(1): 72-79 (2003). Additional discussion of aptamers, including but not limited to selection of RNA aptamers, selection of DNA aptamers, selection of aptamers capable of covalently linking to a target protein, use of modified aptamer libraries, and the use of aptamers as a diagnostic agent and a therapeutic agent is provided in Kopylov et al., Molecular Biology 34(6): 940-954 (2000) translated from Molekulyarnaya Biologiya, Vol. 34, No. 6, 2000, pp. 1097-1113, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In various aspects, an aptamer is about 10 to about 100 nucleotides in length, or about 100 to about 500 nucleotides in length. The production and use of aptamers is known to those of ordinary skill in the art.


In some aspects, multiple oligonucleotides are functionalized to a nanoparticle. In various aspects, the multiple oligonucleotides each have the same sequence, while in other aspects one or more oligonucleotides have a different sequence. In further aspects, multiple oligonucleotides are arranged in tandem and are separated by a spacer. Spacers are described in more detail herein below.


Polynucleotides contemplated for attachment to a nanoparticle include those which modulate expression of a gene product expressed from a target polynucleotide. Such polynucleotides include DNA, RNA, and modified forms thereof as defined herein below. Accordingly, in various aspects and without limitation, polynucleotides which hybridize to a target polynucleotide and initiate a decrease in transcription or translation of the target polynucleotide, triple helix forming polynucleotides which hybridize to double-stranded polynucleotides and inhibit transcription, and ribozymes which hybridize to a target polynucleotide and inhibit translation, are contemplated.


In various aspects, if a specific polynucleotide is targeted, a single functionalized oligonucleotide-nanoparticle composition has the ability to bind to multiple copies of the same transcript. In one aspect, a nanoparticle is provided that is functionalized with identical polynucleotides, i.e., each polynucleotide has the same length and the same sequence. In other aspects, the nanoparticle is functionalized with two or more polynucleotides which are not identical, i.e., at least one of the attached polynucleotides differ from at least one other attached polynucleotide in that it has a different length and/or a different sequence. In aspects wherein different polynucleotides are attached to the nanoparticle, these different polynucleotides bind to the same single target polynucleotide but at different locations, or bind to different target polynucleotides which encode different gene products.


Domain

The domain that is part of the oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle as described herein is shown to affect the efficiency with which the nanoparticle is taken up by a cell. Accordingly, the domain increases or (through lack of the domain) decreases the efficiency. As used herein, “efficiency” refers to the number, amount or rate of uptake of nanoparticles in/by a cell. Because the process of nanoparticles entering and exiting a cell is a dynamic one, efficiency can be increased by taking up more nanoparticles or by retaining those nanoparticles that enter the cell for a longer period of time. Similarly, efficiency can be decreased by taking up fewer nanoparticles or by retaining those nanoparticles that enter the cell for a shorter period of time.


The domain, in some aspects, is located at the terminus of the oligonucleotide. In some embodiments, the domain is located at the 5′ terminus of the oligonucleotide, and in further embodiments the domain is located at the 3′ terminus of the oligonucleotide.


The domain, in some embodiments, is located at the terminus of the oligonucleotide that is not functionalized to the nanoparticle. In other words, in these embodiments the domain is at the terminus of the oligonucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle surface. In further embodiments, the domain is at the terminus of the oligonucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle surface and the domain is also free from attachment to any other molecule.


In some aspects, the domain is contiguous/colinear with the oligonucleotide. In some aspects, the domain is located at an internal region within the oligonucleotide. In further aspects, the domain is located on a second oligonucleotide that is attached to a nanoparticle. In one aspect, more than one domain is present in an oligonucleotide functionalized to a nanoparticle. Accordingly, in some aspects more than one domain is present, in tandem or individually, at the 5′ end, and/or at the 3′ end, and/or at an internal region of the oligonucleotide.


In another aspect, a domain, in some embodiments, is contemplated to be attached to a nanoparticle as a separate entity from an oligonucleotide, i.e., in some embodiments the domain is directly attached to the nanoparticle, separate from an oligonucleotide.


It is further contemplated that an oligonucleotide, in some embodiments, comprise more than one domain, located at one or more of the locations described herein.


The domain, in some embodiments, increases the efficiency of uptake of the oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle by a cell. In various embodiments, the domain is from about 2 to about 1000, or from about 2 to about 500, or from about 2 to about 100, or from about 2 to about 50, or from about 2 to about 30, or from about 2 to about 20, or from about 2 to about 10, or from about 5 to about 100, or from about 5 to about 50, or from about 5 to about 30, or from about 5 to about 20, or from about 5 to about 10, or from about 10 to about 100, or from about 10 to about 50, or from about 10 to about 30, or from about 10 to about 20, or from about 10 to about 15, or from about 20 to about 100, or from about 20 to about 50, or from about 20 to about 40, or from about 20 to about 30 nucleotides in length. In further embodiments, the domain is less than 100, less than 80, less than 60, less than 50, less than 40, less than 30, less than 20, less than 10, or less than 5 nucleotides in length. As disclosed herein, the domain comprises a sequence of guanylic acid nucleotides (poly G). In various aspects, the domain comprises two guanylic acids. In further aspects, the domain comprises at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, at least 20, at least 21, at least 22, at least 23, at least 24, at least 25, at least 26, at least 27, at least 28, at least 29, at least 30, at least 31, at least 32, at least 33, at least 34, at least 35, at least 36, at least 37, at least 38, at least 39, at least 40, at least 41, at least 42, at least 43, at least 44, at least 45, at least 46, at least 47, at least 48, at least 49, at least 50, at least 55, at least 60, at least 65, at least 70, at least 75, at least 80, at least 85, at least 90, at least 95, at least 100, at least 125, at least 150, at least 175, at least 200, at least 250, at least 300, at least 350, at least 400, at least 450, at least 500 or more guanylic acid nucleotides.


The domain, in various aspects and embodiments of the disclosure, comprises a sequence that is at least about 50% but is less than 100% guanylic acid nucleotide. Thus, in some embodiments, the domain comprises a sequence that is at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, or at least 95% guanylic acid nucleotide. In further embodiments, the domain comprises a sequence that is less than 55%, less than 60%, less than 65%, less than 70%, less than 75%, less than 80%, less than 85%, less than 90%, or less 95% guanylic acid nucleotide. In still further embodiments, the domain comprises a sequence that is from about 50% to 99%, or from about 60% to 99%, or from about 65% to 99%, or from about 70% to 99%, or from about 75% to 95%, or from about 80% to 99%, or from about 85% to 99%, or from about 90% to about 99%, or from about 95% to about 99% guanylic acid nucleotide. In some embodiments, the domain comprises a sequence that is 99% guanylic acid nucleotide. Homopolymeric guanylic acid sequences, i.e., sequences that are 100% guanylic acid, are not contemplated for use as a domain herein.


Thus, given the potential nucleotide lengths of the domain and the various percentages of guanylic acid nucleotide present in the domain, each as described above, it is contemplated that the remaining nucleotide sequence of the domain (i.e., the nucleotide sequence that is not guanylic acid but is part of the domain) is any nucleotide or modified form thereof. For example and without limitation, the domain in some embodiments is a (GGX)n sequence, where X is adenylic acid, thymidylic acid, uridylic acid, cytidylic acid (or modified forms thereof) and n is from about 1 to about 500. In some embodiments, X is guanylic acid (provided that, in such embodiments, the domain is not a homopolymeric guanylic acid sequence). In some embodiments, n is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20.


In some embodiments, it is contemplated that a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide and a domain is taken up by a cell with greater efficiency than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide but lacking the domain. In some aspects, a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide and a domain is taken up by a cell 1% more efficiently than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide but lacking the domain. In various aspects, a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide and a domain is taken up by a cell 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%, 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, about 2-fold, about 3-fold, about 4-fold, about 5-fold, about 6-fold, about 7-fold, about 8-fold, about 9-fold, about 10-fold, about 20-fold, about 30-fold, about 40-fold, about 50-fold, about 100-fold, about 150-fold, about 200-fold, about 250-fold, about 300-fold, about 350-fold, about 400-fold, about 450-fold, about 500-fold, about 550-fold, about 600-fold, about 650-fold, about 700-fold, about 750-fold, about 800-fold, about 850-fold, about 900-fold, about 950-fold, about 1000-fold, about 1500-fold, about 2000-fold, about 2500-fold, about 3000-fold, about 3500-fold, about 4000-fold, about 4500-fold, about 5000-fold, about 5500-fold, about 6000-fold, about 6500-fold, about 7000-fold, about 7500-fold, about 8000-fold, about 8500-fold, about 9000-fold, about 9500-fold, about 10000-fold or higher, more efficiently than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide but lacking the domain.


In some embodiments, lack of the domain decreases the efficiency of uptake of the oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle by a cell. In some embodiments, it is contemplated that a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide but lacking a domain is taken up by a cell with lower efficiency than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide that comprises the domain. In some aspects, a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide but lacking a domain is taken up by a cell 1% less efficiently than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide comprising the domain. In various aspects, a nanoparticle functionalized with an oligonucleotide but lacking a domain is taken up by a cell 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%, 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, about 2-fold, about 3-fold, about 4-fold, about 5-fold, about 6-fold, about 7-fold, about 8-fold, about 9-fold, about 10-fold, about 20-fold, about 30-fold, about 40-fold, about 50-fold, about 100-fold, about 150-fold, about 200-fold, about 250-fold, about 300-fold, about 350-fold, about 400-fold, about 450-fold, about 500-fold, about 550-fold, about 600-fold, about 650-fold, about 700-fold, about 750-fold, about 800-fold, about 850-fold, about 900-fold, about 950-fold, about 1000-fold, about 1500-fold, about 2000-fold, about 2500-fold, about 3000-fold, about 3500-fold, about 4000-fold, about 4500-fold, about 5000-fold, about 5500-fold, about 6000-fold, about 6500-fold, about 7000-fold, about 7500-fold, about 8000-fold, about 8500-fold, about 9000-fold, about 9500-fold, about 10000-fold or higher, less efficiently than a nanoparticle functionalized with the same oligonucleotide and comprising the domain.


Modified Oligonucleotides

As discussed above, modified oligonucleotides are contemplated for functionalizing nanoparticles. In various aspects, an oligonucleotide functionalized on a nanoparticle is completely modified or partially modified. Thus, in various aspects, one or more, or all, sugar and/or one or more or all internucleotide linkages of the nucleotide units in the polynucleotide are replaced with “non-naturally occurring” groups.


In one aspect, this embodiment contemplates a peptide nucleic acid (PNA). In PNA compounds, the sugar-backbone of a polynucleotide is replaced with an amide containing backbone. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,539,082; 5,714,331; and 5,719,262, and Nielsen et al., Science, 1991, 254, 1497-1500, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.


Other linkages between nucleotides and unnatural nucleotides contemplated for the disclosed polynucleotides include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,981,957; 5,118,800; 5,319,080; 5,359,044; 5,393,878; 5,446,137; 5,466,786; 5,514,785; 5,519,134; 5,567,811; 5,576,427; 5,591,722; 5,597,909; 5,610,300; 5,627,053; 5,639,873; 5,646,265; 5,658,873; 5,670,633; 5,792,747; and 5,700,920; U.S. Patent Publication No. 20040219565; International Patent Publication Nos. WO 98/39352 and WO 99/14226; Mesmaeker et. al., Current Opinion in Structural Biology 5:343-355 (1995) and Susan M. Freier and Karl-Heinz Altmann, Nucleic Acids Research, 25:4429-4443 (1997), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.


Specific examples of oligonucleotides include those containing modified backbones or non-natural internucleoside linkages. Oligonucleotides having modified backbones include those that retain a phosphorus atom in the backbone and those that do not have a phosphorus atom in the backbone. Modified oligonucleotides that do not have a phosphorus atom in their internucleoside backbone are considered to be within the meaning of “oligonucleotide.”


Modified oligonucleotide backbones containing a phosphorus atom include, for example, phosphorothioates, chiral phosphorothioates, phosphorodithioates, phosphotriesters, aminoalkylphosphotriesters, methyl and other alkyl phosphonates including 3′-alkylene phosphonates, 5′-alkylene phosphonates and chiral phosphonates, phosphinates, phosphoramidates including 3′-amino phosphoramidate and aminoalkylphosphoramidates, thionophosphoramidates, thionoalkylphosphonates, thionoalkylphosphotriesters, selenophosphates and boranophosphates having normal 3′-5′ linkages, 2′-5′ linked analogs of these, and those having inverted polarity wherein one or more internucleotide linkages is a 3′ to 3′, 5′ to 5′ or 2′ to 2′ linkage. Also contemplated are polynucleotides having inverted polarity comprising a single 3′ to 3′ linkage at the 3′-most internucleotide linkage, i.e. a single inverted nucleoside residue which may be abasic (the nucleotide is missing or has a hydroxyl group in place thereof). Salts, mixed salts and free acid forms are also contemplated.


Representative United States patents that teach the preparation of the above phosphorus-containing linkages include, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,808; 4,469,863; 4,476,301; 5,023,243; 5,177,196; 5,188,897; 5,264,423; 5,276,019; 5,278,302; 5,286,717; 5,321,131; 5,399,676; 5,405,939; 5,453,496; 5,455,233; 5,466,677; 5,476,925; 5,519,126; 5,536,821; 5,541,306; 5,550,111; 5,563,253; 5,571,799; 5,587,361; 5,194,599; 5,565,555; 5,527,899; 5,721,218; 5,672,697 and 5,625,050, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.


Modified polynucleotide backbones that do not include a phosphorus atom have backbones that are formed by short chain alkyl or cycloalkyl internucleoside linkages, mixed heteroatom and alkyl or cycloalkyl internucleoside linkages, or one or more short chain heteroatomic or heterocyclic internucleoside linkages. These include those having morpholino linkages; siloxane backbones; sulfide, sulfoxide and sulfone backbones; formacetyl and thioformacetyl backbones; methylene formacetyl and thioformacetyl backbones; riboacetyl backbones; alkene containing backbones; sulfamate backbones; methyleneimino and methylenehydrazino backbones; sulfonate and sulfonamide backbones; amide backbones; and others having mixed N, O, S and CH2 component parts. In still other embodiments, polynucleotides are provided with phosphorothioate backbones and oligonucleosides with heteroatom backbones, and including —CH2—NH—O—CH2—, —CH2—N(CH3)—O—CH2—, —CH2—O—N(CH3)—CH2—, —CH2—N(CH3)—N(CH3)—CH2— and —O—N(CH3)—CH2—CH2— described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489,677, and 5,602,240. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,034,506; 5,166,315; 5,185,444; 5,214,134; 5,216,141; 5,235,033; 5,264,562; 5,264,564; 5,405,938; 5,434,257; 5,466,677; 5,470,967; 5,489,677; 5,541,307; 5,561,225; 5,596,086; 5,602,240; 5,610,289; 5,602,240; 5,608,046; 5,610,289; 5,618,704; 5,623,070; 5,663,312; 5,633,360; 5,677,437; 5,792,608; 5,646,269 and 5,677,439, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.


In various forms, the linkage between two successive monomers in the oligo consists of 2 to 4, desirably 3, groups/atoms selected from —CH2—, —O—, —S—, —NRH—, >C═O, >C═NRH, >C═S, —Si(R″)2—, —S(O)2—, —P(O)(BH3)—, —P(O,S)—, —P(S)2—, —PO(R″)—, —PO(OCH3)—, and —PO(NHRH)—, where RH is selected from hydrogen and C1-4-alkyl, and R″ is selected from C1-6-alkyl and phenyl. Illustrative examples of such linkages are —CH2—CH2—CH2—, —CH2—CO—CH2—, —CH2—CHOH—CH2—, —O—CH2-O—, —O—CH2-CH2-, —O—CH2-CH=(including R5 when used as a linkage to a succeeding monomer), —CH2—CH2—O—, —NRH—CH2—CH2—, —CH2—CH2—NRH—, —CH2—NRH—CH2—, —O—CH2—CH2—NRH—, —NRH—CO—O—, —NRH—CO—NRH—, —NRH—CS—NRH—, —NRH—C(═NRH)—NRH—, —NRH—CO—CH2—NRH—O—CO—O—, —O—CO—CH2—O—, —O—CH2—CO—O—, —CH2—CO—NRH—, —O—CO—NRH—, —NRH—CO—CH2—, —O—CH2—CO—NRH—, —O—CH2—CH2—NRH—, —CH═N—O—, —CH2—NRH—O—, —CH2—O—N=(including R5 when used as a linkage to a succeeding monomer), —CH2—O—NRH—, —CO—NRH—CH2—, —CH2—NRH—O—, —CH2—NRH—CO—, —O—NRH—CH2—, —O—NRH, —O—CH2—S—, —S—CH2—O—, —CH2—CH2—S—, —O—CH2—CH2—S—, —S—CH2—CH=(including R5 when used as a linkage to a succeeding monomer), —S—CH2—CH2—, —S—CH2—CH2—O—, —S—CH2—CH2—S—, —CH2—S—CH2—, —CH2—SO—CH2—, —CH2—SO2—CH2—, —O—SO—O—, —O—S(O)2—O—, —O—S(O)2—, —O—S(O)2—NRH—, —NRH—S(O)2—CH2—; —O—S(O)2—CH2—, —O—P(O)2—O—, —O—P(O,S)—O—, —O—P(S)2—O—, —S—P(O)2—O—, —S—P(O,S)—O—, —S—P(S)2—O—, —O—P(O)2—S—, —O—P(O,S)—S—, —O—P(S)2—S—, —S—P(O)2—S—, —S—P(O,S)—S—, —S—P(S)2—S—, —O—PO(R″)—O—, —O—PO(OCH3)—O—, —O—PO(O CH2CH3)—O—, —O—PO(O CH2CH2S—R)—O—, —O—PO(BH3)—O—, —O—PO(NHRN)—O—, —O—P(O)2—NRH H—, —NRH—P(O)2—O—, —O—P(O,NRH)—O—, —CH2—P(O)2—O—, —O—P(O)2—CH2—, and —O—Si(R″)2—O—; among which —CH2—CO—NRH—, —CH2—NRH—O—, —S—CH2—O—, —O—P(O)2—O—O—P(—O,S)—O—, —O—P(S)2—O—, —NRH P(O)2—O—, —O—P(O,NRH)—O—, —O—PO(R″)—O—, —O—PO(CH3)—O—, and —O—PO(NHRN)—O—, where RH is selected form hydrogen and C1-4-alkyl, and R″ is selected from C1-6-alkyl and phenyl, are contemplated. Further illustrative examples are given in Mesmaeker et. al., 1995, Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 5: 343-355 and Susan M. Freier and Karl-Heinz Altmann, 1997, Nucleic Acids Research, vol 25: pp 4429-4443.


Still other modified forms of polynucleotides are described in detail in U.S. Patent Application No. 20040219565, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.


Modified polynucleotides may also contain one or more substituted sugar moieties. In certain aspects, polynucleotides comprise one of the following at the 2′ position: OH; F; O-, S-, or N-alkyl; O-, S-, or N-alkenyl; O-, S- or N-alkynl; or O-alkyl-O-alkyl, wherein the alkyl, alkenyl and alkynyl may be substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C10 alkyl or C2 to C10 alkenyl and alkynyl. Other embodiments include O[(CH2)nO]mCH3, O(CH2)nOCH3, O(CH2)nNH2, O(CH2)nCH3, O(CH2)nONH2, and O(CH2)nON[(CH2)nCH3]2, where n and m are from 1 to about 10. Other polynucleotides comprise one of the following at the 2′ position: C1 to C10 lower alkyl, substituted lower alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkaryl, aralkyl, O-alkaryl or O-aralkyl, SH, SCH3, OCN, Cl, Br, CN, CF3, OCF3, SOCH3, SO2CH3, ONO2, NO2, N3, NH2, heterocycloalkyl, heterocycloalkaryl, aminoalkylamino, polyalkylamino, substituted silyl, an RNA cleaving group, a reporter group, an intercalator, a group for improving the pharmacokinetic properties of a polynucleotide, or a group for improving the pharmacodynamic properties of a polynucleotide, and other substituents having similar properties. In one aspect, a modification includes 2′-methoxyethoxy (2′-O—CH2CH2OCH3, also known as 2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl) or 2′-MOE) (Martin et al., 1995, Helv. Chim. Acta, 78: 486-504) i.e., an alkoxyalkoxy group. Other modifications include 2′-dimethylaminooxyethoxy, i.e., a O(CH2)2ON(CH3)2 group, also known as 2′-DMAOE, and 2′-dimethylaminoethoxyethoxy (also known in the art as 2′-O-dimethyl-amino-ethoxy-ethyl or 2′-DMAEOE), i.e., 2′-O—CH2—O—CH2—N(CH3)2.


Still other modifications include 2′-methoxy (2′-O—CH3), 2′-aminopropoxy (2′-OCH2CH2CH2NH2), 2′-allyl (2′-CH2—CH═CH2), 2′-O-allyl (2′-O—CH2—CH═CH2), 2′-O—CH2—CH═CH2) and 2′-fluoro (2′-F). The 2′-modification may be in the arabino (up) position or ribo (down) position. In one aspect, a 2′-arabino modification is 2′-F. Similar modifications may also be made at other positions on the polynucleotide, for example, at the 3′ position of the sugar on the 3′ terminal nucleotide or in 2′-5′ linked polynucleotides and the 5′ position of 5′ terminal nucleotide. Polynucleotides may also have sugar mimetics such as cyclobutyl moieties in place of the pentofuranosyl sugar. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,981,957; 5,118,800; 5,319,080; 5,359,044; 5,393,878; 5,446,137; 5,466,786; 5,514,785; 5,519,134; 5,567,811; 5,576,427; 5,591,722; 5,597,909; 5,610,300; 5,627,053; 5,639,873; 5,646,265; 5,658,873; 5,670,633; 5,792,747; and 5,700,920, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.


In one aspect, a modification of the sugar includes Locked Nucleic Acids (LNAs) in which the 2′-hydroxyl group is linked to the 3′ or 4′ carbon atom of the sugar ring, thereby forming a bicyclic sugar moiety. The linkage is in certain aspects a methylene (—CH2-)n group bridging the 2′ oxygen atom and the 4′ carbon atom wherein n is 1 or 2. LNAs and preparation thereof are described in WO 98/39352 and WO 99/14226, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.


Oligonucleotide Attachment to a Nanoparticle

Oligonucleotides contemplated for use in the methods include those bound to the nanoparticle through any means. Regardless of the means by which the oligonucleotide is attached to the nanoparticle, attachment in various aspects is effected through a 5′ linkage, a 3′ linkage, some type of internal linkage, or any combination of these attachments.


Methods of attachment are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are described in US Publication No. 2009/0209629, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Methods of attaching RNA to a nanoparticle are generally described in PCT/US2009/65822, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.


Nanoparticles with oligonucleotides attached thereto are thus provided wherein an oligonucleotide further comprising a domain is associated with the nanoparticle.


Spacers

In certain aspects, functionalized nanoparticles are contemplated which include those wherein an oligonucleotide and a domain are attached to the nanoparticle through a spacer. “Spacer” as used herein means a moiety that does not participate in modulating gene expression per se but which serves to increase distance between the nanoparticle and the functional oligonucleotide, or to increase distance between individual oligonucleotides when attached to the nanoparticle in multiple copies. Thus, spacers are contemplated being located between individual oligonucleotides in tandem, whether the oligonucleotides have the same sequence or have different sequences. In aspects of the invention where a domain is attached directly to a nanoparticle, the domain is optionally functionalized to the nanoparticle through a spacer. In another aspect, the domain is on the end of the oligonucleotide that is opposite to the spacer end. In aspects wherein domains in tandem are functionalized to a nanoparticle, spacers are optionally between some or all of the domain units in the tandem structure. In one aspect, the spacer when present is an organic moiety. In another aspect, the spacer is a polymer, including but not limited to a water-soluble polymer, a nucleic acid, a polypeptide, an oligosaccharide, a carbohydrate, a lipid, an ethylglycol, or combinations thereof.


In certain aspects, the polynucleotide has a spacer through which it is covalently bound to the nanoparticles. These polynucleotides are the same polynucleotides as described above. As a result of the binding of the spacer to the nanoparticles, the polynucleotide is spaced away from the surface of the nanoparticles and is more accessible for hybridization with its target. In instances wherein the spacer is a polynucleotide, the length of the spacer in various embodiments at least about 10 nucleotides, 10-30 nucleotides, or even greater than 30 nucleotides. The spacer may have any sequence which does not interfere with the ability of the polynucleotides to become bound to the nanoparticles or to the target polynucleotide. In certain aspects, the bases of the polynucleotide spacer are all adenylic acids, all thymidylic acids, all cytidylic acids, all guanylic acids, all uridylic acids, or all some other modified base. Accordingly, in some aspects wherein the spacer consists of all guanylic acids, it is contemplated that the spacer can function as a domain as described herein.


Surface Density

Nanoparticles as provided herein have a packing density of the polynucleotides on the surface of the nanoparticle that is, in various aspects, sufficient to result in cooperative behavior between nanoparticles and between polynucleotide strands on a single nanoparticle. In another aspect, the cooperative behavior between the nanoparticles increases the resistance of the polynucleotide to nuclease degradation. In yet another aspect, the uptake of nanoparticles by a cell is influenced by the density of polynucleotides associated with the nanoparticle. As described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2008/0306016, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a higher density of polynucleotides on the surface of a nanoparticle is associated with an increased uptake of nanoparticles by a cell. The disclosure provides embodiments wherein the increased uptake of a nanoparticle due to a higher density of polynucleotides on the nanoparticle surface works in combination with the presence of a domain as described herein. For example and without limitation, a nanoparticle with a given density of polynucleotides on the surface of the nanoparticle, wherein the nanoparticle further comprises a poly G domain as disclosed herein, will demonstrate an increased uptake of the functionalized nanoparticle by a cell relative to a nanoparticle with an identical density of polynucleotides on the surface of the nanoparticle, wherein the nanoparticle lacks a poly G domain. In various aspects, the increase in uptake by a cell of the functionalized nanoparticle further comprising the poly G domain is 1% relative to the functionalized nanoparticle lacking the poly G domain. In further aspects, the increase in uptake by a cell of the functionalized nanoparticle further comprising the poly G domain is 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%, 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, about 2-fold, about 3-fold, about 4-fold, about 5-fold, about 6-fold, about 7-fold, about 8-fold, about 9-fold, about 10-fold, about 20-fold, about 30-fold, about 40-fold, about 50-fold, about 100-fold, about 150-fold, about 200-fold, about 250-fold, about 300-fold, about 350-fold, about 400-fold, about 450-fold, about 500-fold, about 550-fold, about 600-fold, about 650-fold, about 700-fold, about 750-fold, about 800-fold, about 850-fold, about 900-fold, about 950-fold, about 1000-fold, about 1500-fold, about 2000-fold, about 2500-fold, about 3000-fold, about 3500-fold, about 4000-fold, about 4500-fold, about 5000-fold, about 5500-fold, about 6000-fold, about 6500-fold, about 7000-fold, about 7500-fold, about 8000-fold, about 8500-fold, about 9000-fold, about 9500-fold, about 10000-fold or higher relative to the functionalized nanoparticle lacking the poly G domain.


A surface density adequate to make the nanoparticles stable and the conditions necessary to obtain it for a desired combination of nanoparticles and polynucleotides can be determined empirically. Generally, a surface density of at least about 2 pmoles/cm2 will be adequate to provide stable nanoparticle-oligonucleotide compositions. In some aspects, the surface density is at least 15 pmoles/cm2. Methods are also provided wherein the polynucleotide is bound to the nanoparticle at a surface density of at least 2 pmol/cm2, at least 3 pmol/cm2, at least 4 pmol/cm2, at least 5 pmol/cm2, at least 6 pmol/cm2, at least 7 pmol/cm2, at least 8 pmol/cm2, at least 9 pmol/cm2, at least 10 pmol/cm2, at least about 15 pmol/cm2, at least about 19 pmol/cm2, at least about 20 pmol/cm2, at least about 25 pmol/cm2, at least about 30 pmol/cm2, at least about 35 pmol/cm2, at least about 40 pmol/cm2, at least about 45 pmol/cm2, at least about 50 pmol/cm2, at least about 55 pmol/cm2, at least about 60 pmol/cm2, at least about 65 pmol/cm2, at least about 70 pmol/cm2, at least about 75 pmol/cm2, at least about 80 pmol/cm2, at least about 85 pmol/cm2, at least about 90 pmol/cm2, at least about 95 pmol/cm2, at least about 100 pmol/cm2, at least about 125 pmol/cm2, at least about 150 pmol/cm2, at least about 175 pmol/cm2, at least about 200 pmol/cm2, at least about 250 pmol/cm2, at least about 300 pmol/cm2, at least about 350 pmol/cm2, at least about 400 pmol/cm2, at least about 450 pmol/cm2, at least about 500 pmol/cm2, at least about 550 pmol/cm2, at least about 600 pmol/cm2, at least about 650 pmol/cm2, at least about 700 pmol/cm2, at least about 750 pmol/cm2, at least about 800 pmol/cm2, at least about 850 pmol/cm2, at least about 900 pmol/cm2, at least about 950 pmol/cm2, at least about 1000 pmol/cm2 or more.


Oligonucleotide Target Sequences and Hybridization

In some aspects, the disclosure provides methods of targeting specific nucleic acids. Any type of nucleic acid may be targeted, and the methods may be used, e.g., for therapeutic modulation of gene expression (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2009/0209629, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference). Examples of nucleic acids that can be targeted by the methods of the invention include but are not limited to genes (e.g., a gene associated with a particular disease), bacterial RNA or DNA, viral RNA, or mRNA, RNA, or single-stranded nucleic acids.


The terms “start codon region” and “translation initiation codon region” refer to a portion of a mRNA or gene that encompasses contiguous nucleotides in either direction (i.e., 5′ or 3′) from a translation initiation codon. Similarly, the terms “stop codon region” and “translation termination codon region” refer to a portion of such a mRNA or gene that encompasses contiguous nucleotides in either direction (i.e., 5′ or 3′) from a translation termination codon. Consequently, the “start codon region” (or “translation initiation codon region”) and the “stop codon region” (or “translation termination codon region”) are all regions which may be targeted effectively with the oligonucleotides on the functionalized nanoparticles.


Other target regions include the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR), the portion of an mRNA in the 5′ direction from the translation initiation codon, including nucleotides between the 5′ cap site and the translation initiation codon of a mRNA (or corresponding nucleotides on the gene), and the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR), the portion of a mRNA in the 3′ direction from the translation termination codon, including nucleotides between the translation termination codon and 3′ end of a mRNA (or corresponding nucleotides on the gene). The 5′ cap site of a mRNA comprises an N7-methylated guanosine residue joined to the 5′-most residue of the mRNA via a 5′-5′ triphosphate linkage. The 5′ cap region of a mRNA is considered to include the 5′ cap structure itself as well as the first 50 nucleotides adjacent to the cap site.


For prokaryotic target nucleic acid, in various aspects, the nucleic acid is RNA transcribed from genomic DNA. For eukaryotic target nucleic acid, the nucleic acid is an animal nucleic acid, a plant nucleic acid, a fungal nucleic acid, including yeast nucleic acid. As above, the target nucleic acid is a RNA transcribed from a genomic DNA sequence. In certain aspects, the target nucleic acid is a mitochondrial nucleic acid. For viral target nucleic acid, the nucleic acid is viral genomic RNA, or RNA transcribed from viral genomic DNA.


Methods for inhibiting gene product expression provided include those wherein expression of the target gene product is inhibited by at least about 5%, at least about 10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, at least about 35%, at least about 40%, at least about 45%, at least about 50%, at least about 55%, at least about 60%, at least about 65%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%, at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or 100% compared to gene product expression in the absence of an oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticle. In other words, methods provided embrace those which results in essentially any degree of inhibition of expression of a target gene product.


The degree of inhibition is determined in vivo from a body fluid sample or from a biopsy sample or by imaging techniques well known in the art. Alternatively, the degree of inhibition is determined in a cell culture assay, generally as a predictable measure of a degree of inhibition that can be expected in vivo resulting from use of a specific type of nanoparticle and a specific oligonucleotide.


EXAMPLES

The sequence-dependent cellular uptake of spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates (SNAs) was investigated. This process occurs by interaction with class A scavenger receptors (SR-A) and caveolae-mediated endocytosis. It is known that linear poly(guanylic acid) (poly G) is a natural ligand for SR-A. The examples described below tested whether SNAs with higher G contents would be able to enter cells in larger amounts than SNAs composed of other nucleotides, and as such the cellular internalization of SNAs was measured as a function of constituent oligonucleotide sequence. As seen below, SNAs with enriched G content showed the highest cellular uptake. Next, a small molecule (camptothecin) was chemically conjugated with SNAs to create drug-SNA conjugates and it was observed that poly G SNAs deliver the most camptothecin to cells and have the highest cytotoxicity in cancer cells. The data provided herein elucidate important design considerations for enhancing the intracellular delivery of spherical nucleic acids.


The enhanced cellular uptake of G-rich SNAs was investigated in four cell types, A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial), NIH-3T3 (mouse fibroblasts), C166 (mouse endothelial), and HaCaT (human keratinocytes). In addition, the consequences of sequence-dependent cellular uptake was studied by designing SNAs loaded with DNA-chemotherapeutic conjugates and increased the delivery of camptothecin chemotherapeutic molecules to A549 cells and subsequent cytotoxicity with G-rich SNAs compared to SNAs enriched in A, T, and C.


Example 1
Nucleobase Type on SNAs Dictates Loading and Thickness of the DNA Oligonucleotide Shell on the Surface of a Gold Nanoparticle

First, SNAs composed of different nucleobase types (A, T, C, or G) were prepared by adding the same amounts of alkylthiol-modified, 30-base-pair long, single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides (ssDNAs) of different nucleobase types (FIG. 1a; see Table 1 below for sequence information) into an aqueous suspension of citrate-capped 10 nanometer (nm) diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). To prepare SNAs enriched in C (poly C SNAs) and G (poly G SNAs), Ts were deliberately inserted at regular intervals along the linear polymers of C and G, yielding sequences of (CCT)10 and (GGT)10, respectively. For poly C SNAs and poly G SNAs, these design features attenuate the challenges of synthesizing poly C and poly G sequences, which is made difficult due to the formation of i-motifs [Gehring et al., Nature 363: 561-565 (1993)] and G-quadruplexes [Sen et al., Nature 334: 364-366 (1988)]. On the contrary, linear polymers of A and T do not naturally fold into stable secondary structures, negating the need to dilute the linear polymers of A and T with another nucleobase when SNAs enriched in A (poly A SNAs) and T (poly T SNAs) were prepared. By dynamic light scattering measurements, all SNAs possess a hydrodynamic diameter of 22±4 nm, suggesting a thickness of 5-8 nm for the oligonucleotide shell (FIG. 2). The variation in thickness is likely due to variation in loading (see below). By UV-Vis spectroscopy, all SNAs are generally monodisperse in size, and exhibit a red-shift of approximately 4 nm in the surface plasmon peak compared to unmodified AuNPs (524 nm vs. 520 nm) due to changes in the local refractive index upon the covalent attachment of the oligonucleotide shell [Kumar et al., Nat Protoc 3: 314-320 (2008)] (FIG. 3). Oligonucleotide loading was then measured as a function of nucleobase type by preparing SNAs whose oligonucleotides contain a Cy5 fluorophore at their 5′ end (FIG. 4). Given a constant oligonucleotide length of 30 bases, SNAs enriched in pyrimidine bases (i.e., C and T) have noticeably higher oligonucleotide loading, whereby poly T SNAs and poly C SNAs have approximately 180 ssDNAs and approximately 140 ssDNAs per AuNP, respectively. By contrast, SNAs enriched in purine bases have lower oligonucleotide loading: poly G SNAs and poly A SNAs have only approximately 75 ssDNAs and approximately 45 ssDNAs per AuNP, respectively (FIG. 1a).









TABLE 1 







List of SNA nanoparticle conjugates and their


DNA oligonucleotide sequences.











SEQ



Sequence of constituent DNA
ID


Type of SNA
oligonucleotides (5′→3′)
NO:





Poly SNA; 
AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA
1


A30
AAA AAA propylthiol






Poly T SNA; 
TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
2


T30
TTT propylthiol






Poly C SNA; 
CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT
3


(CCT)10
CCT CCT propylthiol






Poly G SNA; 
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT
4


(GGT)10
GGT GGT propylthiol






SNAs comprised of the DNA oligonucleotides listed in Table 1 were prepared to examine the effect of nucleobase type on their cellular uptake kinetics and intracellular distribution using ICP-MS and TEM, respectively (FIG. 5).


FIGS. 2 and 3 present DLS and UV-Vis spectroscopic data on the hydrodynamic size and absorption spectra of these SNAs.


The TEM imaging data in FIG. 1 reveal the morphology of the SNAs.






To directly visualize the oligonucleotide shell by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a uranyl acetate staining protocol for SNAs was utilized [Huxley et al., J Biophys Biochem Cytol 11: 273-296 (1961)]. In agreement with the loading data, the oligonucleotide coverage for poly T SNAs is the densest among all nucleobase types tested, as evidenced by their uniform oligonucleotide shell of 4-6 nm in dry thickness in the entire circumference of the AuNPs (FIG. 1b). Chen et al. used single-molecule FRET (smFRET) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to demonstrate that the end-to-end distance of a single-stranded poly T DNA of 40 bases long (T40) is approximately 6.6 nm in the presence of physiological levels of salt (150 mM NaCl) [Chen et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 109: 799-804 (2012)]. Thus, the dry shell thickness of poly T SNAs as revealed by the TEM images suggests that the poly T DNA strands are approaching the maximum loading afforded by the curved surface of an AuNP when they radially extend away from the center of the AuNP. Poly A SNAs possess the thinnest oligonucleotide shell of merely 1-2 nm in thickness, but their shells are still uniform. Given their intermediate oligonucleotide loading, poly C SNAs and poly G SNAs have 2-4 nm thick oligonucleotide shells, but their shells are not as uniform as poly T SNAs and poly A SNAs. Although this technique is subject to drying effects, the data are in agreement with results from oligonucleotide loading studies (FIG. 1a). In brief, the oligonucleotide loading and TEM imaging data are consistent with literature precedents that pyrimidine bases (C and T) adsorb to the gold surface less strongly than their purine counterparts (A and G) [Demers et al., J Am Chem Soc 124: 11248-11249 (2002); Hurst et al., 78, 8313-8318 (2006); Storhoff et al., Langmuir 18: 6666-6670 (2002); Kimura-Suda et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society 125: 9014-9015 (2003); Opdahl et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 104: 9-14 (2007)], supporting the idea that the former extend away from the gold surface whereas the latter interact with the surface.


Example 2
Poly G SNAs Enter Multiple Mammalian Cell Types in Highest Amounts Among all Nucleobase Types Tested

Next, the cellular uptake kinetics of SNAs of different nucleobase types was monitored by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). C166 cells were chosen because of their expression of SR-A [Choi et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 110: 7625-7630 (2013)], a key receptor that mediates the cellular uptake of SNAs (FIG. 5a). After two hours of incubation, poly G SNAs exhibit the highest level of cellular association among all nucleobase types tested, accumulating 5×105 particles per cell. In contrast to poly G SNAs, poly T SNAs show over five-fold lower cellular association, the lowest level of cellular association among all nucleobase types. Poly A and poly C SNAs exhibit intermediate levels of cellular association compared to poly T SNAs and poly G SNAs. Similar data are presented in FIG. 13. See also FIG. 12, which demonstrates that poly G SNAs show higher cellular association with C166 cells than poly A, poly T, and poly C SNAs. A modified ELISA assay shows that poly G SNAs demonstrate the highest association with recombinant class A scavenger receptors (SR-A), which is responsible for the increased cellular association of poly G SNAs.


However, ICP-MS, a technique that allows for sensitive quantification of the bulk content of gold associated with cells, does not provide any information on the intracellular distribution of SNAs. Therefore, TEM was utilized to determine whether SNAs enter cells or merely associate with the cell membrane (FIG. 5b). After 2 hours of incubation with cells, SNAs composed of all nucleobase types can enter C166 cells, as evidenced by their accumulation inside either the cytosol or early endosomes. In agreement with the ICP-MS data, representative TEM images show that poly G SNAs are the most abundant in the cell among all nucleobase types, both in terms of number of particle clusters per cross-sectional area of the cell and number of particles per cluster (typically >100 SNAs per cluster). By contrast, poly A SNAs, poly C SNAs, and poly T SNAs enter cells in considerably smaller amounts than poly G SNAs (<20 SNAs per cluster), although TEM images do not permit precise quantification of particles in the cell.


In summary, when the constituent oligonucleotide strands are kept constant at 30 bases long, incorporation of a higher fraction of Gs than other nucleobase types (i.e., A, C, T) maximizes the delivery of SNAs to C166 cells. To ascertain if such G-dependent uptake is only applicable to C166 cells, the cellular uptake kinetics of SNAs was further tracked for three other mammalian cell types, namely HaCaT, 3T3, and A549 (FIG. 5c). These cell lines, in conjunction with C166, have a range of expression levels for SR-A; in descending order of expression levels, they are HaCaT, C166, 3T3, and A549 [Choi et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 110: 7625-7630 (2013)]. Consistent with the uptake data for C166 cells, poly G SNAs demonstrate the maximal extent of association for these cell types, exhibiting 4-10 fold higher cellular association than SNAs composed of other nucleobase types. Remarkably, cellular association of poly G SNAs is also positively correlated with the expression level of SR-A; when incubated with the same concentration of poly G SNAs, HaCaT, 3T3, and A549 cells exhibit highest, intermediate, and lowest cellular association, respectively. Thus, incorporation of Gs maximizes the delivery of SNAs to multiple mammalian cell types in a manner that is correlated with expression level of SR-A. In addition, these data show that oligonucleotide loading does not dictate the cellular uptake kinetics when the nucleobase type is not kept constant; despite their lower oligonucleotide loading, poly G SNAs enter cells in higher amounts than poly T SNAs.


Example 3
The Poly G Shell Maximizes Intracellular Delivery Regardless of Core Composition

In order to prove that the poly G shell of poly G SNAs facilitates increased cellular uptake compared to poly A, poly T, and poly C SNAs, T-rich SNAs and poly G SNAs with different core compositions were synthesized, either 5 nm AuNPs or cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) (see Table 2) for sequence information). Five nanometer AuNP-SNAs and QD-SNAs comprised of oligonucleotides listed in Table 2 were prepared to study the effect of the poly G shell on the cellular uptake of SNAs of different core compositions (FIG. 6). All sequences are 28 bases long and terminated with a dibenzocyclooctyl (DBCO) group. The AuNP-SNAs and QD-SNAs were synthesized using a previously described strategy [Zhang et al., Nat Mater 12: 741-746 (2013), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety]. In one set of experiments, C166 cells were treated with equal concentrations of T-rich QD-SNAs and poly G AuNP-SNAs. In another set of experiments, cells were treated with equal concentrations of T-rich AuNP-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs. Confocal microscopy was then used to track the fluorescent signal of the QDs that entered cells. C166 cells treated with T-rich QD-SNAs and poly G AuNP-SNAs showed very little intracellular fluorescence. However, C166 cells treated with T-rich AuNP-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs showed significantly higher intracellular fluorescence (FIG. 6a), indicating a higher uptake of SNAs with a poly G shell into C166 cells. To further confirm, ICP-MS was used to analyze the Au content and Cd content in C166 cells treated with T-rich AuNP-SNAs or QD-SNAs alone, poly G AuNP-SNAs or QD-SNAs alone, a combination of T-rich AuNP-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs, and a combination of T-rich QD-SNAs and poly G AuNP-SNAs. C166 cells treated with poly G AuNP-SNAs have 3 times higher Au content than cells treated with T-rich AuNP-SNAs. In contrast, cells treated with poly G QD-SNAs show three-fold higher Cd content than cells treated with T-rich QD-SNAs (FIG. 6b). Cells treated with poly G AuNP-SNAs and T-rich QD-SNAs have higher Au content compared to Cd content, and this trend is reversed for cells treated with T-rich AuNP-SNAs and poly G QD-SNAs (FIG. 6b). This competitive cellular uptake assay showed that SNAs with a poly G shell preferentially enter cells regardless of core composition, indicating that the poly G shell has greater affinity for cell surface receptors.









TABLE 2 







List of SNA nanoparticle conjugates and their


DNA oligonucleotide sequences.









Type of SNA
Sequence of constituent DNA
SEQ



oligonucleotides (5′→3′)
ID NO:





Poly G
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT TTT TTT
5


AuNP-SNA
TTT TTT T DBCO






T-rich AuNP-
TAT CGT ATT TAC TCT GAT TTT
6


SNA
TTT TTT T DBCO






Poly G QD-
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT TTT TTT
7


SNA
TTT TTT T DBCO






T-rich QD-
TAT CGT ATT TAC TCT GAT TTT
8


SNA
TTT TTT T DBCO









Example 4
The Most Peripheral Approximately 10 Bases of an Oligonucleotide Dictates the Cellular Uptake of SNAs

To characterize the cellular uptake properties from a geometric perspective, the fraction of DNA oligonucleotides that significantly contributes to the cellular uptake of SNAs was investigated. Again, the cellular association of SNAs when all constituent oligonucleotides are kept constant at 30 bases (see Table 3 for sequence information) was compared. SNAs comprised of oligonucleotides listed in Table 3 were prepared to probe the effects of nucleotide position on the cellular uptake of SNAs (FIG. 7). All sequences are 30-bases long and contain a minimum of six thymidylic acid (T) residues at the 3′ end. This poly (T) motif at the 3′ end allows for a near-constant loading of oligonucleotides onto the surface of AuNPs independent of sequence. A fraction of the oligonucleotides does not contain any nucleobases; these abasic regions were prepared by using either a dSpacer CE phosphoramidite (d; with both ribose unit and phosphate backbone) or a Spacer phosphoramidite C3 (c; with the phosphate backbone only).


First, the cellular association between poly T SNAs and SNAs containing varying amounts of Gs at the 5′ end (in the form of repeating GGT units) and Ts at the 3′ end by ICP-MS were compared. The poly T segment at the 3′ end of the DNA oligonucleotides allows for a near-constant oligonucleotide loading onto the surface of the AuNP. In general, cellular association of SNAs increases with increasing G content at the 5′ end of the constituent oligonucleotides (FIG. 7a). It appears that a minimum of four GGT repeats at the 5′ end of the constituent oligonucleotides is necessary to significantly enhance cellular association; addition of two GGT repeats does not substantially increase cellular association compared to poly T SNAs.









TABLE 3 







List of SNA nanoparticle conjugates and their


DNA oligonucleotide sequences











SEQ


Type of
Sequence of constituent DNA
ID


SNA
oligonucleotides (5′→3′)
NO:












(GGT)2T24
GGT GGT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
9



TTT TTT propylthiol






(GGT)4T18
GGT GGT GGT GGT TTT TTT TTT TTT
10



TTT TTT propylthiol






(GGT)6T12
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT TTT
11



TTT TTT TTT propylthiol






(GGT)8T6
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT
12



GGT TTT TTT propylthiol






TGT2
TTT TTT TTT TTT GGT GGT TTT TTT
13



TTT TTT propylthiol






TGT4
TTT TTT TTT TTT GGT GGT GGT GGT
14



TTT TTT propylthiol






(dS)5T25
ddd ddT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
15



TTT TTT propylthiol






(dS)10T20
ddd ddd ddd dTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
16



TTT propylthiol






(dS)15T15
ddd ddd ddd ddd ddd TTT TTT TTT TTT
17



TTT propylthiol






(dS)20T10
ddd ddd ddd ddd ddd ddd ddT TTT TTT
18



TTT propylthiol






(C3)5T25
ccc ccT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
19



TTT propylthiol






(C3)10T20
ccc ccc ccc cTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
20



TTT propylthiol






(C3)15T15
ccc ccc ccc ccc ccc TTT TTT TTT TTT
21



TTT propylthiol






(C3)20T10
ccc ccc ccc ccc ccc ccc ccT TTT TTT
22



TTT propylthiol





d = abasic site with both ribose unit and phosphate backbone


c = abasic site with the phosphate backbone only






The cellular association of SNAs composed of oligonucleotides with GGT repeats either exposed at the 5′ end or buried in the middle of the strand (see sequence information in Table 3) was also compared. Placing a T12 motif on the 5′ end to bury the GGT repeats in the middle of the DNA oligonucleotide strand reduced cellular association by approximately 70% when compared to the case in which GGT repeats are exposed at the 5′ end, effectively curbing the superior effect of the GGT repeats on cellular uptake of SNAs (FIG. 7b). These observations showed that approximately 10 bases at the 5′ end of the 30-base long constituent DNA oligonucleotides primarily dictate the cellular uptake properties of SNAs. Besides increasing the cellular uptake of poly T SNAs via the incorporation of more Gs, the portion of the SNA nanostructure most relevant to cellular uptake of poly T SNAs was also probed. To this end, SNAs that contain varying lengths of abasic spacers at the 5′ end of constituent DNA oligonucleotides (see sequence information in Table 3) were constructed. These abasic spacers include dSpacer (Glen Research), which does not contain a nucleobase, and C3 spacer (Glen Research), which has neither a nucleobase nor a ring structure. SNAs with higher abasic spacer contents show approximately 75% lower cellular association compared to poly T SNAs (FIGS. 7c and 7d) that levels off when more than 10 abasic spacer units are added to the 5′ end. Again, these data demonstrate that approximately one-third of the constituent oligonucleotide strands (10 out of a total of 30 bases at the 5′ end) exposed at the most peripheral part of the SNA nanoparticle are most geometrically essential in determining its cellular association. They also reaffirm that the nucleobase, but not the phosphate backbone or ribose units, are the biochemically active components that dictate the cellular association of SNAs.


Example 5
Poly G SNAs Can Maximize the Intracellular Delivery of a Small Molecule Chemotherapeutic (e.g. Camptothecin) to Cancer Cells

In addition to empirical data afforded by ICP-MS measurements and TEM imaging, functional evidence that poly G SNAs enter mammalian cells most effectively out of all nucleobase types is also provided by demonstrating that an increase in cellular uptake of drug-containing SNAs corresponds to an increase in their cytotoxicity against cancer cells. As a proof-of-concept, camptothecin-containing SNAs (CPT-SNAs) were prepared by covalently attaching camptothecin (CPT), a small-molecule chemotherapeutic agent, to the most peripheral position of their constituent oligonucleotides and subsequently examined their ability to kill cancer cells as a function of nucleobase type. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells (as discussed in FIG. 5c) were chosen as the model cell line because of their low expression of SR-A and caveolin-1, both of which are essential proteins for the cellular uptake of SNAs [Choi et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 110: 7625-7630 (2013)]. Given the modest degree of cellular uptake of SNAs by A549 cells, any observable cytotoxicity highlights the potency of CPT-SNAs as a function of nucleobase type. To attach CPT molecules onto DNA strands, literature precedent was followed to react the —OH group of CPT with an azide-bearing linker to synthesize camptothecin-azide (CPT-N3) [Parrish et al., Bioconjug Chem 18: 263-267 (2007)]. Copper-free click chemistry was utilized for coupling CPT-N3 directly onto bifunctional single-strand DNAs (ssDNAs) that bear a dibenzocyclooctyl (DBCO) group on one end as well as a thiol group on the other. The resultant conjugate, camptothecin-DNA-thiol (CPT-DNA-SH), can then be covalently attached to the surface of AuNPs as previously described, yielding CPT-SNAs (FIGS. 8a and 9).









TABLE 4 







Sequences as shown in FIG. 9d.










Sequence of constituent DNA
SEQ


Type of SNA
oligonucleotides (5′→3′)
ID NO:





CPT-poly A 
CPT-AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA
23


SNA (A30)
AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA-




propylthiol






CPT-poly T 
CPT-TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT
24


SNA (T30)
TTT TTT TTT TTT-propylthiol






CPT-poly C  
CPT-CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT
25


SNA ((CCT)10)
CCT CCT CCT CCT CCT-




propylthiol






CPT-poly G  
CPT-GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT
26


SNA ((GGT)10)
GGT GGT GGT GGT GGT-




propylthiol









Using this approach, CPT-poly A SNAs, CPT-poly T SNAs, CPT-poly C SNAs, and CPT-poly G SNAs were prepared. Given that the oligonucleotide loading for poly T SNAs and poly C SNAs is significantly higher than that for poly A SNAs and poly G SNAs, the CPT-T30-SH strands were intentionally diluted with unmodified T30-SH strands and the CPT-(CCT)10-SH strands were diluted with unmodified (CCT)10-SH strands as the strands were functionalized onto AuNPs, in order to obtain a similar loading of CPT molecules on SNAs composed of all nucleobase types, which allowed for the direct comparison of the effect of enhanced cellular uptake of poly G SNAs on CPT delivery. Indeed, the loading of camptothecin molecules per particle was determined to be approximately equal (approximately 55±15 CPT molecules per AuNP) (FIG. 8b). The effect of nucleobase type on the uptake of CPT-SNAs by A549 cells was next investigated by measuring the gold content associated with the cells using ICP-MS. After incubation for 9 hours and 18 hours, CPT-poly G SNAs show 6-9 fold higher association with A549 cells than CPT-SNAs composed of other nucleobase types. This observation reinforced the conclusion that the 10 most peripheral bases of DNA oligonucleotides covalently functionalized on the surface of AuNPs are most significant in dictating the cellular uptake properties of SNAs. That is, a small-molecule drug placed at the periphery of SNAs does not significantly interfere with the interaction between the DNA oligonucleotides and cell-surface SR-A. CPT-SNAs were further incubated with A549 cells for 18 hours, replenished with fresh nanoparticle-free medium, and allowed to grow for an additional 54 hours. After 72 hours, the gold content associated with the cells was similar to the gold content associated with cells after 18 hours, implying little appreciable exocytosis of CPT-SNAs (FIG. 8c). Besides tracking the AuNP core of CPT-SNAs by ICP-MS, the distribution of CPT in A549 cells was visualized by confocal imaging, taking advantage of the fluorescent emission of the CPT molecule at 440 nm [Zamai et al., Mol Cancer Ther 2: 29-40 (2003)]. After incubation of CPT-SNAs with A549 cells for 18 hours, the particles were removed, replenished with fresh medium, and imaged 3 and 5 days after treatment. After 3 days, CPT-poly G SNAs showed the highest intracellular accumulation of CPT among all nucleobase types tested. After 5 days, cells treated with CPT-poly G SNAs still showed the highest fluorescence, but the fluorescence was more diffuse (FIG. 8d). Based on the ICP-MS and confocal imaging data, and without being bound by theory, it is contemplated that CPT-SNAs persist in cells for a sufficient period of time to release the CPT molecules gradually by the action of intracellular esterases and exert a cytotoxic effect [Cheng et al., Bioconjug Chem 14: 1007-1017 (2003)]. To test this, 20 nM CPT-SNAs (or equivalently, approximately 1.1 μM CPT molecules) were incubated with different sequences with A549 cells for 18 hours, the cells were replenished with fresh medium, and their viability was measured several days later by using a modified MTT assay. Between 4 and 7 days after CPT-SNA treatment, CPT-poly G SNAs are significantly more cytotoxic than CPT-SNAs composed of other nucleobase types. After 7 days, cells treated with CPT-poly G SNAs show only approximately 20% cell viability compared to 80-100% viability for cells treated with CPT-SNAs composed of other nucleobase types (FIG. 8e). As a negative control, A549 cells were also incubated with 20 nM CPT-free SNAs composed of all nucleobase types for 18 hours and no appreciable cytotoxicity was observed 7 days after treatment (FIG. 10), confirming that the observed cytotoxicity induced by CPT-SNA treatment originates from the attached CPT molecule but not the SNA architecture itself.


In addition, cells were stained with propidium iodide 6 days after treatment with CPT-SNAs to detect CPT-induced apoptosis. Flow cytometry of the stained cells reveals that CPT-(GGT)10 SNAs are the most cytotoxic (FIG. 8f). To further ensure that CPT is active in the cells, the amount of activated caspase 3, an apoptotic signaling protein that is known to be activated by CPT [Stefanis et al., J Neurosci 19: 6235-6247 (1999)], was measured in cells by ELISA after 5 days. Cells treated with CPT-poly G SNAs show a higher amount of activated caspase 3 than cells treated with CPT-A30, CPT-T30, and CPT-(CCT)10 SNAs (FIG. 11). In summary, CPT-poly G SNAs are significantly more potent than CPT-SNAs composed of other nucleobase types, as evidenced by increased delivery of CPT to cancer cells by poly G SNAs and increased cytotoxicity. This example underscores the functional advantage of G-dependent delivery and demonstrates the potential of delivering other therapeutic entities with greater efficiency.


Conclusion

Demonstrated by the foregoing non-limiting examples are methods for increasing the uptake of SNA nanoparticle conjugates into cells. SNAs with a three-dimensional oligonucleotide shell containing a high G content are internalized by cells in higher amounts than SNAs that are primarily composed of A, T, and C. Further, G-rich SNAs can be used to enhance the intracellular delivery of both nucleic acids and small molecule drugs. This indicates that sequence composition is another tunable property, in addition to concentration, that can be used to tailor the intracellular delivery of SNAs. This strategy of tailoring sequence composition is a powerful tool for nanoparticle-based diagnostic and therapeutic applications because it enables the rational design of nanoparticle constructs with desired cellular uptake properties.


Example 6
Materials and Methods

The following materials and methods were used to generate the data described in the foregoing examples.


Synthesis of DNA oligonucleotides. DNAs were synthesized on an MM48 Oligonucleotide synthesizer (BioAutomation) using standard solid-phase synthesis and reagents (Glen Research). Unless otherwise mentioned, all DNAs were purified using a ProStar HPLC (Varian) with a Microsorb C18 column (Varian). Table 1 contains detailed sequence information of the DNAs.


Preparation of spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanoconjugates. Thiolated DNAs were added to 10 nm citrate-capped AuNPs at a concentration of 1 OD of DNA per mL of 10 nM AuNPs supplemented with 0.1% Tween 20. After stirring at room temperature for 1 hour, the solution was aged with gradual additions of NaCl over 6 hours to bring the final NaCl concentration to 0.5 M. Functionalized AuNPs were separated from free DNA strands via dialysis against Nanopure water using a 50-kDa Amicon MWCO membrane (Millipore). AuNP and DNA concentrations were determined by measuring their extinction at 524 nm and 260 nm, respectively, on a Cary 5000 UV-Vis spectrophotometer (Agilent). To prepare camptothecin-containing SNAs (CPT-SNAs), the solution was aged with NaCl over 5 hours to bring the final NaCl concentration to 0.3 M.


Measurement of oligonucleotide loading. Ten microliters (μL) of 10 nM Cy5-labeled SNAs of different nucleobase types was added into 100 μL of 1 M DTT. The mixture was incubated at 40° C. for 15 minutes with shaking, followed by centrifugation at 14000×g to remove any gold precipitate. One hundred μL of the supernatant was placed in a 96-well plate and the fluorescence signals (excitation: 633 nm; emission filter: 660-710 nm) were measured using a Synergy H4 Multimode Microplate Reader (Biotek). The concentration of oligonucleotides was determined by comparing to a calibration standard curve. Dividing oligonucleotide concentration by AuNP concentration (measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy at 520 nm) yields the oligonucleotide loading.


Visualization of the oligonucleotide shell. Twenty μL of 100 nM SNAs was drop-cast onto each glow-discharged, 200-mesh copper grid coated with carbon and formvar (Electron Microscopy Sciences). Upon drying, 20 μL of 2% uranyl acetate was added onto the grids to stain the oligonucleotide shell for 1 minute. Excess uranyl acetate was blotted away using a piece of filter paper. The dried grids were imaged using a HD-2300 (Hitachi) microscope in TEM mode at a beam voltage of 80 kV. An Orius SC 1000 CCD camera (Gatan) was used to record the images.


Cellular uptake kinetics. Seeded in a 24-well plate at a population of 5×104 cells per well 12 hours in advance, C166 (mouse endothelial), 3T3 (mouse fibroblast), HaCaT (human keratinocyte), or A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial) cells were incubated with 0.3 mL of SNAs (10 nM in OptiMEM) per well at 37° C. and 5% CO2. SNAs were removed at different time points, followed by OptiMEM rinses, trypsinization for counting using a hemacytometer, and centrifugation at 8000 rpm for 5 minutes to form a pellet. Cell pellets were digested with 0.3 mL of 3% HCl in concentrated HNO3 at room temperature (RT) overnight for subsequent ICP-MS analysis.


ICP-MS. After adding 5 μL of 5 ppm indium (internal standard) and 5 mL of matrix solution (2% HCl and 2% HNO3), the Au-197 content of the resultant solution was measured by an X Series II ICP-MS (ThermoFisher) after subtracting the background gold content of untreated cells. Reported values represent mean±SE from the average of three independent experiments.


TEM. Cell pellets were mixed gently in 0.2 mL of molten 2% agarose in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH=8) at 40° C. for 5 minutes. The cell-agarose mixture was expunged into water at RT gently using a glass pipette to form an enrobed noodle-shaped jelly. Embedded in this agarose jelly, cells were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 100 mM sodium cacodylate buffer (pH=7.4), stained by 1% OsO4, and by 0.9% OsO4 and 0.3% K4Fe(CN)6, with all steps carried out at 4° C. for 2 hours. After gradual dehydration with ethanol and propylene oxide, cell pellets were embedded in Epon 812 resins (Electron Microscopy Sciences). Eighty-nanometer-thick sections were deposited onto 200-mesh copper grids (EMS) and stained with 2% uranyl acetate (SPI Supplies) and Reynolds lead citrate for visualization under a JEM 1230 microscope (JEOL) using a beam voltage of 80 kV. An Orius SC 1000 CCD camera (Gatan) was used to record the images.


Synthesis of quantum dot and gold nanoparticle SNAs. Instead of covalently attaching DNAs strands directly to the nanoparticle surface, the CdSe quantum dots and 5 nm gold nanoparticles were first coated with an azide-bearing amphiphilic polymer, then coupled the DNA to the polymer-coated particles using strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Briefly, commercially available hydrophobic-ligand-capped nanoparticles were first functionalized with an amphiphilic polymer containing both hydrophobic alkyl chains and hydrophilic carboxylates and azide-modified ethylene glycol groups to solubilize the particles in aqueous solvent. The particles were then functionalized by azide-alkyne click chemistry with dibenzocyclooctyl (DBCO)-terminated DNA strands to produce a dense DNA shell around the nanoparticle.


Preparation of camptothecin-azide. The preparation for camptothecin-azide (CPT-N3) was adapted and modified from previously published procedures [Parrish et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 18: 263-267 (2006)]. To an oven-dried 50 mL round bottomed flask with stirrer was added camptothecin (200 mg, 0.54 mmol), 6-azidohexanoic acid (170 mg, 1.08 mmol), 4-dimethylaminopyridine (8 mg), and dry dichloromethane (10 mL). The suspension was cooled to 0° C. and 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (220 mg, 1.08 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred for 12 hours under inert atmosphere, warmed to RT, and then poured into 100 mL of ether. The ether suspension was cooled to 0° C. to precipitate dicyclohexylurea (DCU), and the solids were removed by vacuum filtration. The filtrate was cooled to −40° C., and the resulting yellow precipitate collected and recrystallized from methanol to afford 20-O-(6-azidohexanoyl)camptothecin (108 mg). The recovered DCU was washed repeatedly with methanol, yielding an additional crop of product (120 mg; total yield 228 mg, 87%).


Preparation of camptothecin-DNA-thiol (CPT-DNA-SH) conjugate. Single-stranded DNA of various sequences (FIG. 9d), all possessing a dibenzocyclooctyl (DBCO) group at their 5′ end, were made by solid-state synthesis using a DBCO-TEG phosphoramidite (Glen Research, 10-1941). Purification of DNA-DBCO conjugates was performed using a 1200 Series HPLC (Agilent) by collecting the fraction with an absorbance peak of DBCO at 310 nm. To attach the CPT moiety to the DNA by copper-free click chemistry, 80 nmol of DNA-DBCO and 3 mg of CPT-azide (approximate 100-fold excess) were dissolved in 1.5 mL of anhydrous dimethyl sulfoxide. The reaction was shaken continuously for 18 hours at 40° C. After that, 3.5 mL of deionized water was added to the mixture to precipitate out the excess CPT, followed by adding 5 mL of ethyl acetate to remove the CPT. The liquid-liquid extraction process was repeated for four more times. The aqueous phase (DNA-CPT in DMSO/water) was lyophilized to retrieve the product, whose chemical identity was confirmed by MALDI-ToF.


Confocal microscopy. Seeded in a 35 mm FluoroDish (World Precision Instruments), A549 cells were incubated with 20 nM of CPT-SNAs in OptiMEM for 18 hours. CPT-SNAs were removed from cells and replaced with complete DMEM (DMEM supplemented by 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin/streptomycin) for either 3 or 5 days. The treated cells were rinsed with PBS, fixed in 3.7% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 15 minutes, and stained with Hoechst nuclear stain for imaging under a Zeiss LSM 510 inverted confocal scanning microscope. The excitation and emission wavelengths of CPT were 370 nm and 440 nm, respectively.


MTT assay. Seeded in a 24-well plate at a population of 104 cells per well, A549 cells were incubated with 0.3 mL of SNAs (20 nM in OptiMEM) for 18 hours. After that, SNAs were removed from the cells, which were then incubated with 1 mL of complete DMEM. After different durations of time, 20 μL of MTT stock solution (5 mg/mL MTT in PBS; Molecular Probes) was added into each well of cells that were pre-incubated with 300 μL of complete DMEM. After 2 hours, 300 μL of SDS solution (200 mg/mL in 50% dimethyl formamide) was further added into each well, followed by thorough pipetting to re-suspend the cells. Upon overnight incubation, the cell lysate was centrifuged at 14000×g for 10 minutes to remove any gold aggregates. The absorbance at 620 nm of the supernatant fraction collected from the cell lysate was determined using a Synergy H4 Multimode Microplate Reader (Biotek). Reported values represent mean±SE from the average of three independent experiments.


Flow cytometry. Seeded in a 6-well plate, A549 cells were incubated with 1 mL of SNAs (20 nM in OptiMEM) for 18 hours. Upon treatment, CPT-SNAs were removed and the cells grown on complete DMEM for 126 hours. Cells were then trypsinized, washed, and suspended in 0.5 mL PBS. 0.5 mL 3.7% paraformaldehyde was added to the cell suspension from each well for 15 minutes. After two PBS rinses, cells were stained using 1 mL of propidium iodide (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, sc-3541) staining solution in PBS working solution (50 mg/mL). Stained samples were stored at 4° C. and were protected from light prior to flow cytometry analysis. The fluorescence intensity of 10,000 cells was measured using a BD LSR II flow cytometer.


Chemicals. 6-Azidohexanoic acid was purchased from EMD Millipore (Billerica, Mass.). CdSe quantum dots were purchased from Ocean NanoTech. Dodecanethiol-functionalized Au nanoparticles were purchased from Nanoprobes. DBCO-NHS ester was purchased from Clickchemistrytools. All other reagents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.) and used as received.


Dynamic Light Scattering. Measurements were conducted using a Nano Zetasizer (Malvern Instruments), using 0.47 as the refractive index of AuNPs. Hydrodynamic diameter (HD) measurements are derived from the number average value. Each histogram represents the size distribution of AuNPs after six repeated measurements.


MALDI-ToF MS. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-ToF) data was collected on a Bruker AutoFlex III MALDI-ToF mass spectrometer employing 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone (DHAP) as the matrix material.



1H NMR. 1H NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker Avance 400 MHz NMR spectrometer. 1H NMR spectra were referenced internally to residual proton signals in the deuterated solvent.


Detection of activated caspase 3. A549 cells were plated in a 6-well plate at a density of 100,000 cells per well and treated with 20 nM CPT-SNAs in OptiMEM. After 18 hours, the cells were washed with PBS and further incubated with complete DMEM (supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% streptomycin/penicillin). After 6 days, the cells were lysed and protein extracted. Relative levels of activated caspase 3 were detected by ELISA according to manufacturers' instructions (Cell Signaling 7190S).

Claims
  • 1. A nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide, wherein the polynucleotide comprises a domain, wherein the domain (i) is situated at the terminus of the polynucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle and (ii) terminates in three to fifteen consecutive (GGX) motifs, wherein X is not guanylic acid or cytidylic acid, wherein the polynucleotide is 9 to 70 nucleotides in length, and wherein the nanoparticle is functionalized with an additional polynucleotide comprising a sequence sufficiently complementary to a target polynucleotide sequence to hybridize to the target polynucleotide sequence.
  • 2. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the domain is located at the 5′ terminus of the polynucleotide.
  • 3. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the domain is located at the 3′ terminus of the polynucleotide.
  • 4. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein X is a deoxyribonucleotide or a ribonucleotide.
  • 5. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein X is adenylic acid, thymidylic acid, or uridylic acid.
  • 6. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein X is a modified nucleotide.
  • 7. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the additional polynucleotide comprises a domain, wherein the domain (i) is situated at the terminus of the polynucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle and (ii) terminates in three to fifteen consecutive (GGX) motifs, wherein X is not guanylic acid or cytidylic acid.
  • 8. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the domain comprises a poly guanylic acid (poly G) sequence comprising six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty guanylic acid nucleotides.
  • 9. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the polynucleotide is DNA.
  • 10. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the polynucleotide is RNA.
  • 11. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the additional polynucleotide is DNA or RNA.
  • 12. A method comprising the step of: modifying a nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide to further comprise a domain that increases cellular uptake of the nanoparticle compared to a nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide lacking the domain, wherein the domain is (i) situated at the terminus of the polynucleotide that is distal to the nanoparticle and (ii) terminates in three to fifteen consecutive (GGX) motifs, wherein X is not guanylic acid or cytidylic acid, wherein the polynucleotide is 9 to 70 nucleotides in length, and wherein the nanoparticle is functionalized with an additional polynucleotide comprising a sequence sufficiently complementary to a target polynucleotide sequence to hybridize to the target polynucleotide sequence.
  • 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the domain comprises a poly G sequence comprising six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty guanylic acid nucleotides.
  • 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the domain is located at the 5′ terminus of the polynucleotide.
  • 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the domain is located at the 3′ terminus of the polynucleotide.
  • 16. The method of claim 12 wherein the polynucleotide is DNA or RNA.
  • 17. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the domain comprises a sequence that is at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, or at least 95% guanylic acid nucleotide.
  • 18. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the additional polynucleotide detects the target polynucleotide.
  • 19. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein the additional polynucleotide inhibits gene expression of the target polynucleotide sequence.
  • 20. The method of claim 12 wherein hybridizing of the target polynucleotide sequence results in detection of the target polynucleotide sequence.
  • 21. The method of claim 12 wherein hybridizing of the target polynucleotide sequence results in inhibition of gene expression of the target polynucleotide sequence.
  • 22. The method of claim 12 wherein the domain comprises a sequence that is at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, or at least 95% guanylic acid nucleotide.
  • 23. The method of claim 21 wherein gene expression is inhibited by at least about 5%, at least about 10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, at least about 35%, at least about 40%, at least about 45%, at least about 50%, at least about 55%, at least about 60%, at least about 65%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%, at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or 100% compared to inhibition of gene expression of a nanoparticle functionalized with a polynucleotide lacking the domain.
  • 24. The method of claim 12 wherein the additional polynucleotide is DNA or RNA.
  • 25. The nanoparticle of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide is 9 to 45 nucleotides in length.
  • 26. The nanoparticle of claim 1, wherein the domain is associated directly with the nanoparticle.
  • 27. The nanoparticle of claim 1, wherein the domain is associated with the nanoparticle through a spacer.
  • 28. The nanoparticle of claim 27, wherein the spacer does not comprise a nucleobase.
  • 29. The nanoparticle of claim 27, wherein the spacer is an abasic spacer.
  • 30. The nanoparticle of claim 27, wherein the spacer is a dSpacer or a C3 Spacer.
  • 31. The nanoparticle of claim 27, wherein the spacer comprises ethylglycol.
  • 32. The nanoparticle of claim 1, wherein the additional polynucleotide is an siRNA.
  • 33. The method of claim 12, wherein the additional polynucleotide is an siRNA.
  • 34. The nanoparticle of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide is functionalized to the surface of the nanoparticle.
  • 35. The method of claim 12, wherein the polynucleotide is functionalized to the surface of the nanoparticle.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of International Application No. PCT/US15/062005 filed Nov. 20, 2015, which claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/083,092, filed Nov. 21, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

This invention was made with government support under grant number FA9550-11-1-0275 awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research; and grant numbers U54 CA151880 and U54 CA159341 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention.

PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/US2015/062005 11/20/2015 WO 00
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO2016/081911 5/26/2016 WO A
US Referenced Citations (507)
Number Name Date Kind
3687808 Merigan, Jr. et al. Aug 1972 A
4179337 Davis et al. Dec 1979 A
4289872 Denkewalter et al. Sep 1981 A
4301144 Iwashita et al. Nov 1981 A
4469863 Ts'o et al. Sep 1984 A
4476301 Imbach et al. Oct 1984 A
4489055 Couvreur et al. Dec 1984 A
4496689 Mitra Jan 1985 A
4587044 Miller et al. May 1986 A
4605735 Miyoshi et al. Aug 1986 A
4640835 Shimizu et al. Feb 1987 A
4667025 Miyoshi et al. May 1987 A
4670417 Iwasaki et al. Jun 1987 A
4762779 Snitman Aug 1988 A
4789737 Miyoshi et al. Dec 1988 A
4791192 Nakagawa et al. Dec 1988 A
4824941 Gordon et al. Apr 1989 A
4828979 Klevan et al. May 1989 A
4835263 Nguyen et al. May 1989 A
4845205 Huynh Dinh et al. Jul 1989 A
4876335 Yamane et al. Oct 1989 A
4904582 Tullis Feb 1990 A
4948882 Ruth Aug 1990 A
4958013 Letsinger Sep 1990 A
4981957 Lebleu et al. Jan 1991 A
5008050 Cullis et al. Apr 1991 A
5013830 Ohtsuka et al. May 1991 A
5023243 Tullis Jun 1991 A
5034506 Summerton et al. Jul 1991 A
5082830 Brakel et al. Jan 1992 A
5109124 Ramachandran et al. Apr 1992 A
5112963 Pieles et al. May 1992 A
5118800 Smith et al. Jun 1992 A
5118802 Smith et al. Jun 1992 A
5130302 Spielvogel et al. Jul 1992 A
5134066 Rogers et al. Jul 1992 A
5138045 Cook et al. Aug 1992 A
5149797 Pederson et al. Sep 1992 A
5166315 Summerton et al. Nov 1992 A
5175273 Bischofberger et al. Dec 1992 A
5177196 Meyer, Jr. et al. Jan 1993 A
5185444 Summerton et al. Feb 1993 A
5188897 Suhadolnik et al. Feb 1993 A
5194599 Froehler et al. Mar 1993 A
5214134 Weis et al. May 1993 A
5214136 Lin et al. May 1993 A
5216141 Benner Jun 1993 A
5218105 Cook et al. Jun 1993 A
5220007 Pederson et al. Jun 1993 A
5229490 Tam Jul 1993 A
5235033 Summerton et al. Aug 1993 A
5245022 Weis et al. Sep 1993 A
5254469 Warren, III et al. Oct 1993 A
5256775 Froehler Oct 1993 A
5258506 Urdea et al. Nov 1993 A
5262536 Hobbs, Jr. Nov 1993 A
5264423 Cohen et al. Nov 1993 A
5264562 Matteucci Nov 1993 A
5264564 Matteucci Nov 1993 A
5270163 Gold et al. Dec 1993 A
5272250 Spielvogel et al. Dec 1993 A
5276019 Cohen et al. Jan 1994 A
5278302 Caruthers et al. Jan 1994 A
5286717 Cohen et al. Feb 1994 A
5292873 Rokita et al. Mar 1994 A
5317098 Shizuya et al. May 1994 A
5319080 Leumann Jun 1994 A
5321131 Agrawal et al. Jun 1994 A
5359044 Cook et al. Oct 1994 A
5366878 Pederson et al. Nov 1994 A
5367066 Urdea et al. Nov 1994 A
5371241 Brush Dec 1994 A
5391723 Priest Feb 1995 A
5393878 Leumann Feb 1995 A
5399676 Froehler Mar 1995 A
5403711 Walder et al. Apr 1995 A
5405938 Summerton et al. Apr 1995 A
5405939 Suhadolnik et al. Apr 1995 A
5414077 Lin et al. May 1995 A
5416203 Letsinger May 1995 A
5432272 Benner Jul 1995 A
5434257 Matteucci et al. Jul 1995 A
5446137 Maag et al. Aug 1995 A
5451463 Nelson et al. Sep 1995 A
5453496 Caruthers et al. Sep 1995 A
5455233 Spielvogel et al. Oct 1995 A
5457187 Gmeiner et al. Oct 1995 A
5457272 Hooykaas Oct 1995 A
5459255 Cook et al. Oct 1995 A
5466677 Baxter et al. Nov 1995 A
5466786 Buhr et al. Nov 1995 A
5470967 Huie et al. Nov 1995 A
5472881 Beebe et al. Dec 1995 A
5476925 Letsinger et al. Dec 1995 A
5484908 Froehler et al. Jan 1996 A
5486603 Buhr Jan 1996 A
5489677 Sanghvi et al. Feb 1996 A
5491133 Walder et al. Feb 1996 A
5502177 Matteucci et al. Mar 1996 A
5510475 Agrawal et al. Apr 1996 A
5512439 Hornes et al. Apr 1996 A
5512667 Reed et al. Apr 1996 A
5514785 Van Ness et al. May 1996 A
5519126 Hecht May 1996 A
5519134 Acevedo et al. May 1996 A
5525465 Haralambidis et al. Jun 1996 A
5525711 Hawkins et al. Jun 1996 A
5527899 Froehler Jun 1996 A
5536821 Agrawal et al. Jul 1996 A
5539082 Nielsen et al. Jul 1996 A
5541306 Agrawal et al. Jul 1996 A
5541307 Cook et al. Jul 1996 A
5541313 Ruth Jul 1996 A
5545730 Urdea et al. Aug 1996 A
5547842 Hogan et al. Aug 1996 A
5550111 Suhadolnik et al. Aug 1996 A
5552538 Urdea et al. Sep 1996 A
5552540 Haralambidis Sep 1996 A
5561225 Maddry et al. Oct 1996 A
5563253 Agrawal et al. Oct 1996 A
5565350 Kmiec Oct 1996 A
5565552 Magda et al. Oct 1996 A
5565555 Froehler et al. Oct 1996 A
5567810 Weis et al. Oct 1996 A
5567811 Misiura et al. Oct 1996 A
5571799 Tkachuk et al. Nov 1996 A
5574142 Meyer, Jr. et al. Nov 1996 A
5576427 Cook et al. Nov 1996 A
5578717 Urdea et al. Nov 1996 A
5578718 Cook et al. Nov 1996 A
5580731 Chang et al. Dec 1996 A
5585481 Arnold, Jr. et al. Dec 1996 A
5587361 Cook et al. Dec 1996 A
5587371 Sessler et al. Dec 1996 A
5587469 Cook et al. Dec 1996 A
5591584 Chang et al. Jan 1997 A
5591722 Montgomery et al. Jan 1997 A
5594121 Froehler et al. Jan 1997 A
5595726 Magda et al. Jan 1997 A
5596086 Matteucci et al. Jan 1997 A
5596091 Switzer Jan 1997 A
5597696 Linn et al. Jan 1997 A
5597909 Urdea et al. Jan 1997 A
5599923 Sessler et al. Feb 1997 A
5599928 Hemmi et al. Feb 1997 A
5602240 De Mesmaeker et al. Feb 1997 A
5608046 Cook et al. Mar 1997 A
5610289 Cook et al. Mar 1997 A
5610300 Altmann et al. Mar 1997 A
5614617 Cook et al. Mar 1997 A
5618704 Sanghvi et al. Apr 1997 A
5623065 Cook et al. Apr 1997 A
5623070 Cook et al. Apr 1997 A
5625050 Beaton et al. Apr 1997 A
5627053 Usman et al. May 1997 A
5633360 Bischofberger et al. May 1997 A
5637459 Burke et al. Jun 1997 A
5639873 Barascut et al. Jun 1997 A
5645985 Froehler et al. Jul 1997 A
5646265 McGee Jul 1997 A
5646269 Matteucci et al. Jul 1997 A
5652355 Metelev et al. Jul 1997 A
5652356 Agrawal Jul 1997 A
5658873 Bertsch-Frank et al. Aug 1997 A
5663312 Chaturvedula Sep 1997 A
5670633 Cook et al. Sep 1997 A
5672697 Buhr et al. Sep 1997 A
5677437 Teng et al. Oct 1997 A
5677439 Weis et al. Oct 1997 A
5681941 Cook et al. Oct 1997 A
5700920 Altmann et al. Dec 1997 A
5700922 Cook Dec 1997 A
5714331 Buchardt et al. Feb 1998 A
5719262 Buchardt et al. Feb 1998 A
5721218 Froehler Feb 1998 A
5728527 Singer et al. Mar 1998 A
5750692 Cook et al. May 1998 A
5763588 Matteucci et al. Jun 1998 A
5780448 Davis Jul 1998 A
5792608 Swaminathan et al. Aug 1998 A
5792747 Schally et al. Aug 1998 A
5830653 Froehler et al. Nov 1998 A
5955589 Cook et al. Sep 1999 A
6005096 Matteucci et al. Dec 1999 A
6080580 Baker et al. Jun 2000 A
6194388 Krieg et al. Feb 2001 B1
6207646 Krieg et al. Mar 2001 B1
6228642 Baker et al. May 2001 B1
6239116 Krieg et al. May 2001 B1
6271209 Smith et al. Aug 2001 B1
6287860 Monia et al. Sep 2001 B1
6361944 Mirkin et al. Mar 2002 B1
6403312 Dahiyat et al. Jun 2002 B1
6406705 Davis et al. Jun 2002 B1
6417340 Mirkin et al. Jul 2002 B1
6495324 Mirkin et al. Dec 2002 B1
6506564 Mirkin et al. Jan 2003 B1
6534062 Raz et al. Mar 2003 B2
6544776 Gold et al. Apr 2003 B1
6582921 Mirkin et al. Jun 2003 B2
6602669 Letsinger et al. Aug 2003 B2
6610308 Haensler Aug 2003 B1
6610491 Mirkin et al. Aug 2003 B2
6656730 Manoharan Dec 2003 B1
6677122 Mirkin et al. Jan 2004 B2
6677153 Iversen Jan 2004 B2
6678548 Echauz et al. Jan 2004 B1
6682895 Mirkin et al. Jan 2004 B2
6709825 Mirkin et al. Mar 2004 B2
6720147 Mirkin et al. Apr 2004 B2
6720411 Mirkin et al. Apr 2004 B2
6750016 Mirkin et al. Jun 2004 B2
6759199 Mirkin et al. Jul 2004 B2
6767702 Mirkin et al. Jul 2004 B2
6773884 Mirkin et al. Aug 2004 B2
6777186 Mirkin et al. Aug 2004 B2
6806289 Lippard et al. Oct 2004 B1
6812334 Mirkin et al. Nov 2004 B1
6818753 Mirkin et al. Nov 2004 B2
6827979 Mirkin et al. Dec 2004 B2
6828432 Mirkin et al. Dec 2004 B2
6844161 Siani et al. Jan 2005 B2
6849725 Junghans et al. Feb 2005 B2
6861221 Mirkin et al. Mar 2005 B2
6878814 Mirkin et al. Apr 2005 B2
6942972 Farooqui et al. Sep 2005 B2
6974669 Mirkin et al. Dec 2005 B2
6991900 Shizuya Jan 2006 B2
7038029 Lopez May 2006 B2
7048949 Sligar et al. May 2006 B2
7098320 Mirkin et al. Aug 2006 B1
7129222 Van Nest et al. Oct 2006 B2
7138520 Lippard et al. Nov 2006 B2
7176296 Agrawal et al. Feb 2007 B2
7208587 Mirkin et al. Apr 2007 B2
7223741 Krieg May 2007 B2
7223833 Nielsen et al. May 2007 B1
7238472 Mirkin et al. Jul 2007 B2
7250403 Nest et al. Jul 2007 B2
7255868 Fearon et al. Aug 2007 B2
7262286 Kandimalla et al. Aug 2007 B2
7276489 Agrawal et al. Oct 2007 B2
7291284 Mirkin et al. Nov 2007 B2
7323309 Mirkin et al. Jan 2008 B2
7332586 Franzen et al. Feb 2008 B2
7354907 Agrawal et al. Apr 2008 B2
7387271 Noelle et al. Jun 2008 B2
7404969 Chen et al. Jul 2008 B2
7427405 Agrawal et al. Sep 2008 B2
7470674 Agrawal et al. Dec 2008 B2
7514099 Chen et al. Apr 2009 B2
7563618 Gryaznov et al. Jul 2009 B2
7569553 Krieg Aug 2009 B2
7569554 Kandimalla et al. Aug 2009 B2
7595305 Agrawal et al. Sep 2009 B2
7611728 Kidane et al. Nov 2009 B2
7615539 Uhlmann et al. Nov 2009 B2
7628990 Tuck et al. Dec 2009 B2
7638557 Lipkin et al. Dec 2009 B2
7651979 Lippard et al. Jan 2010 B2
7666674 Klinman et al. Feb 2010 B2
7667004 Zhong et al. Feb 2010 B2
7709617 Kandimalla et al. May 2010 B2
7713535 Agrawal et al. May 2010 B2
7718622 Tuck et al. May 2010 B2
7727969 Farokhzad et al. Jun 2010 B2
7745606 Dina et al. Jun 2010 B2
7776834 Agrawal et al. Aug 2010 B2
7786089 Kandimalla et al. Aug 2010 B2
7833992 Vargeese et al. Nov 2010 B2
7851453 Agrawal et al. Dec 2010 B2
7875594 Kandimalla et al. Jan 2011 B2
7884083 van Nest et al. Feb 2011 B2
7956176 McSwiggen et al. Jun 2011 B2
7960362 Kandimalla et al. Jun 2011 B2
7964578 Vargeese et al. Jun 2011 B2
8008266 Krieg et al. Aug 2011 B2
8008267 Kandimalla et al. Aug 2011 B2
8017591 Brzezicha et al. Sep 2011 B2
8058249 Krieg et al. Nov 2011 B2
8088388 Sokoll Jan 2012 B2
8124590 van Nest et al. Feb 2012 B2
8128944 Jurk et al. Mar 2012 B2
8158768 Dina et al. Apr 2012 B2
8188261 Kandimalla et al. May 2012 B2
8202979 McSwiggen et al. Jun 2012 B2
8273866 McSwiggen et al. Sep 2012 B2
8283328 Krieg et al. Oct 2012 B2
8304396 Krieg et al. Nov 2012 B2
8309527 Krieg et al. Nov 2012 B2
8323686 Mirkin et al. Dec 2012 B2
8333980 van Nest et al. Dec 2012 B2
8431544 Agrawal et al. Apr 2013 B1
8507200 Mirkin et al. Aug 2013 B2
8853375 Kandimalla et al. Oct 2014 B2
8871732 Dina et al. Oct 2014 B2
8889181 Kwon Nov 2014 B2
8945590 Fairman et al. Feb 2015 B2
8968746 Baumhof et al. Mar 2015 B2
8987221 Zhu et al. Mar 2015 B2
9061001 van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk et al. Jun 2015 B2
9066978 Ilyinskii et al. Jun 2015 B2
9139827 Mirkin et al. Sep 2015 B2
9200287 Uhlmann et al. Dec 2015 B2
9212366 Wittig et al. Dec 2015 B2
9265729 Nakamura Feb 2016 B2
9364443 Beduneau et al. Jun 2016 B2
9499815 Schroff et al. Nov 2016 B1
9506056 Mirkin et al. Nov 2016 B2
9522958 Epstein et al. Dec 2016 B2
9532948 Mirkin et al. Jan 2017 B2
9549901 Shi et al. Jan 2017 B2
9580708 Uhlmann et al. Feb 2017 B2
9617541 Mirkin et al. Apr 2017 B2
9844562 Mirkin et al. Dec 2017 B2
9868955 Guiducci et al. Jan 2018 B2
9889209 Mirkin et al. Feb 2018 B2
9901616 Dhar et al. Feb 2018 B2
9907845 Reed et al. Mar 2018 B2
9907862 Baumhof et al. Mar 2018 B2
9950063 Reed et al. Apr 2018 B2
9950064 Ott et al. Apr 2018 B2
9987355 Reed et al. Jun 2018 B2
9993495 Guiducci et al. Jun 2018 B2
9999673 Rajeev et al. Jun 2018 B2
10029016 Irvine et al. Jul 2018 B2
10098958 Mirkin et al. Oct 2018 B2
10117919 Knutson et al. Nov 2018 B2
10144933 Gemba et al. Dec 2018 B2
10149905 Gemba et al. Dec 2018 B2
10155950 Munnes et al. Dec 2018 B2
10182988 Mirkin et al. Jan 2019 B2
10196643 Dina et al. Feb 2019 B2
10208310 Mader et al. Feb 2019 B2
10280424 Kleuss et al. May 2019 B2
10322173 Gemba et al. Jun 2019 B2
10370656 Mirkin et al. Aug 2019 B2
10391116 Mirkin et al. Aug 2019 B2
10398784 Mirkin et al. Sep 2019 B2
10449212 Hanagata et al. Oct 2019 B2
10487333 Schroff et al. Nov 2019 B2
10792251 Mirkin et al. Oct 2020 B2
20020156033 Bratzler et al. Oct 2002 A1
20020172711 Martin et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020172953 Mirkin et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020197269 Lingnau et al. Dec 2002 A1
20030022848 Baker et al. Jan 2003 A1
20030026782 Krieg et al. Feb 2003 A1
20030044354 Carpenter et al. Mar 2003 A1
20030050261 Krieg et al. Mar 2003 A1
20030091599 Krieg et al. May 2003 A1
20030104044 Semple et al. Jun 2003 A1
20030129251 Van Nest et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030133988 Fearon et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030138413 Vicari et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030147966 Franzen et al. Aug 2003 A1
20030170162 Nayfeh et al. Sep 2003 A1
20030181412 Erikson Sep 2003 A1
20030212026 Krieg et al. Nov 2003 A1
20040014956 Woolf et al. Jan 2004 A1
20040053384 Sligar et al. Mar 2004 A1
20040087534 Krieg et al. May 2004 A1
20040092468 Schwartz May 2004 A1
20040131628 Bratzler et al. Jul 2004 A1
20040143112 Krieg et al. Jul 2004 A1
20040158051 Ozkan et al. Aug 2004 A1
20040219565 Kauppinen et al. Nov 2004 A1
20040247680 Farokhzad et al. Dec 2004 A1
20040248099 Goppelt et al. Dec 2004 A1
20040266719 McCluskie et al. Dec 2004 A1
20050009773 Kandimalla et al. Jan 2005 A1
20050059016 Ecker et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050074753 Goldsborough Apr 2005 A1
20050089890 Cubicciotti Apr 2005 A1
20050090671 Chang et al. Apr 2005 A1
20050096263 Keay et al. May 2005 A1
20050136258 Nie et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050169888 Hartman et al. Aug 2005 A1
20050197315 Taira et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050214782 Chen et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050244858 Rossi et al. Nov 2005 A1
20060003962 Ahluwalia et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060008907 Friedman et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060014191 Lao et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060014713 Agrawal et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060019916 Krieg et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060019917 Guerciolini et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060025363 Breitenbach et al. Feb 2006 A1
20060035344 Pachuk et al. Feb 2006 A1
20060083781 Shastri et al. Apr 2006 A1
20060105343 Zetter et al. May 2006 A1
20060159921 Murthy et al. Jul 2006 A1
20060183247 Kim et al. Aug 2006 A1
20060188560 Cheresh et al. Aug 2006 A1
20060233712 Penades et al. Oct 2006 A1
20060251623 Bachmann et al. Nov 2006 A1
20060252037 Kolesnick et al. Nov 2006 A1
20060275371 Dai et al. Dec 2006 A1
20060292174 de los Rios et al. Dec 2006 A1
20070066554 Krieg et al. Mar 2007 A1
20070093439 Agrawal et al. Apr 2007 A1
20070105139 Nishigaki et al. May 2007 A1
20070148251 Hossainy et al. Jun 2007 A1
20070184068 Renner et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070243196 Bruck et al. Oct 2007 A1
20080003232 Wang et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080057128 Li et al. Mar 2008 A1
20080097092 Khvorova et al. Apr 2008 A1
20080181928 Hakimi-Mehr et al. Jul 2008 A1
20080194463 Weller et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080206265 Kandimalla et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080213177 Rademacher et al. Sep 2008 A1
20080220072 Unger et al. Sep 2008 A1
20080274454 Mirkin et al. Nov 2008 A1
20080279785 Kandimalla et al. Nov 2008 A1
20080279946 Hainfeld Nov 2008 A1
20080292545 Lin et al. Nov 2008 A1
20080305106 Brennan et al. Dec 2008 A1
20080306016 Mirkin et al. Dec 2008 A1
20080311182 Ferrari et al. Dec 2008 A1
20080317749 Kastelein et al. Dec 2008 A1
20080317768 Bianchi Dec 2008 A1
20090018028 Lindsay et al. Jan 2009 A1
20090035576 Prasad et al. Feb 2009 A1
20090053169 Castillo et al. Feb 2009 A1
20090081244 Glenn et al. Mar 2009 A1
20090148384 Fischer et al. Jun 2009 A1
20090155173 Scherman et al. Jun 2009 A1
20090191188 Krieg et al. Jul 2009 A1
20090209629 Mirkin et al. Aug 2009 A1
20090286853 Gryaznov et al. Nov 2009 A1
20090317802 Bhatia et al. Dec 2009 A1
20090324706 Mirkin et al. Dec 2009 A1
20100003317 Akinc et al. Jan 2010 A1
20100136682 Mirkin Jun 2010 A1
20100144848 Vogel et al. Jun 2010 A1
20100166842 Lu et al. Jul 2010 A1
20100167051 Goia et al. Jul 2010 A1
20100183504 Chen Jul 2010 A1
20100183634 Luo et al. Jul 2010 A1
20100184844 Mirkin et al. Jul 2010 A1
20100203142 Zhang Aug 2010 A1
20100233270 Mirkin et al. Sep 2010 A1
20100267814 Bennett et al. Oct 2010 A1
20110020242 Zheng et al. Jan 2011 A1
20110034422 Kannan et al. Feb 2011 A1
20110052697 Farokhzad et al. Mar 2011 A1
20110111974 Mirkin et al. May 2011 A1
20110135669 Kandimalla et al. Jun 2011 A1
20110158937 Kandimalla et al. Jun 2011 A1
20110172404 Luo et al. Jul 2011 A1
20110201672 Krieg et al. Aug 2011 A1
20110223257 Zhao et al. Sep 2011 A1
20110237435 Ryan Sep 2011 A1
20110244026 Guild et al. Oct 2011 A1
20110256224 Sigalov Oct 2011 A1
20110262347 Ruoslahti et al. Oct 2011 A1
20110262976 Kandula et al. Oct 2011 A1
20110293700 Bratzler et al. Dec 2011 A1
20110293701 Bratzler et al. Dec 2011 A1
20110293723 Bratzler et al. Dec 2011 A1
20110305684 Agrawal et al. Dec 2011 A1
20110305734 Edelson et al. Dec 2011 A1
20120093804 Schroff et al. Apr 2012 A1
20120107303 Kandimalla et al. May 2012 A1
20120244230 Mirkin et al. Sep 2012 A1
20120282186 Mirkin et al. Nov 2012 A1
20120301499 Bachmann et al. Nov 2012 A1
20130028857 Gao et al. Jan 2013 A1
20130034599 Thaxton et al. Feb 2013 A1
20130089614 Zhang et al. Apr 2013 A1
20130095039 Lu et al. Apr 2013 A1
20130123333 Mirkin May 2013 A1
20130178610 Mirkin et al. Jul 2013 A1
20130252852 Pfeiffer et al. Sep 2013 A1
20130287814 Schroff et al. Oct 2013 A1
20130295129 Irvine et al. Nov 2013 A1
20130315831 Shi et al. Nov 2013 A1
20140005258 Mirkin et al. Jan 2014 A1
20140010830 Schroff et al. Jan 2014 A1
20140199379 Tartour et al. Jul 2014 A1
20140227327 Bencherif et al. Aug 2014 A1
20140294927 Thaxton et al. Oct 2014 A1
20150104501 Um et al. Apr 2015 A1
20150118264 Baumhof et al. Apr 2015 A1
20160194642 Gryaznov et al. Jul 2016 A1
20160310425 Mirkin et al. Oct 2016 A1
20170044544 Mirkin et al. Feb 2017 A1
20170232109 Mirkin et al. Feb 2017 A1
20170130231 Chae et al. May 2017 A1
20180000851 Krieg Jan 2018 A1
20180043023 Ilyinskii et al. Feb 2018 A1
20180161427 Yu et al. Jun 2018 A1
20180169229 Yu et al. Jun 2018 A1
20180171338 Uhlmann et al. Jun 2018 A1
20180200381 Kannan et al. Jul 2018 A1
20180264105 Kugimiya et al. Sep 2018 A1
20180311176 Ozsolak et al. Nov 2018 A1
20180312837 Kortylewski et al. Nov 2018 A1
20190030185 Mirkin et al. Jan 2019 A1
20190233825 Ilg et al. Aug 2019 A1
20190275166 Mirkin et al. Sep 2019 A1
20200022913 Mirkin et al. Jan 2020 A1
20200069587 Radovic-Moreno et al. Mar 2020 A1
20200101156 Mirkin et al. Apr 2020 A1
20200291394 Mirkin et al. Sep 2020 A1
20210052497 Mirkin et al. Feb 2021 A1
Foreign Referenced Citations (113)
Number Date Country
2004218696 Nov 2004 AU
101180400 May 2008 CN
103212089 Jul 2013 CN
1072679 Jan 2001 EP
1674128 Jun 2006 EP
1350262 Jun 2008 EP
1991678 Nov 2008 EP
2162117 Mar 2010 EP
1408110 Jun 2011 EP
2391718 Dec 2011 EP
2399608 Dec 2011 EP
1807094 Jan 2012 EP
2759306 Apr 2016 EP
1538904 Jul 2016 EP
2 360 252 Feb 2017 EP
3209778 Apr 2019 EP
WO-1989002439 Mar 1989 WO
WO-1993007883 Apr 1993 WO
WO 9321528 Oct 1993 WO
WO-1993021259 Oct 1993 WO
WO-1995006731 Mar 1995 WO
WO-1995011910 May 1995 WO
WO 95034289 Dec 1995 WO
WO 1996034876 Nov 1996 WO
WO-1997012896 Apr 1997 WO
WO-199712896 Apr 1997 WO
WO 9748715 Dec 1997 WO
WO-199804740 Feb 1998 WO
WO-199839352 Sep 1998 WO
WO-1998039352 Sep 1998 WO
WO-1998047343 Oct 1998 WO
WO-1999011655 Mar 1999 WO
WO-199914226 Mar 1999 WO
WO-1999014226 Mar 1999 WO
WO-2000043045 Jul 2000 WO
WO-2001000876 Jan 2001 WO
WO-2001049869 Jul 2001 WO
WO-2001051665 Jul 2001 WO
WO-200173123 Oct 2001 WO
WO-2002044321 Jun 2002 WO
WO-2002096262 Dec 2002 WO
WO 2003008539 Jan 2003 WO
WO-2003008539 Jan 2003 WO
WO 03030941 Apr 2003 WO
WO-2003051278 Jun 2003 WO
WO 2004047870 Jun 2004 WO
WO 2004103301 Dec 2004 WO
WO-2005008222 Jan 2005 WO
WO-2005079462 Sep 2005 WO
WO-2005116226 Dec 2005 WO
WO 2005116226 Dec 2005 WO
WO-2006012695 Feb 2006 WO
WO 2006015872 Feb 2006 WO
WO-2006045541 May 2006 WO
WO-2006064451 Jun 2006 WO
WO-2006064453 Jun 2006 WO
WO 2006088833 Aug 2006 WO
WO-2006138145 Dec 2006 WO
WO 2006138145 Dec 2006 WO
WO 2007008463 Jan 2007 WO
WO 2007044851 Apr 2007 WO
WO-2007047455 Apr 2007 WO
WO 2007050059 May 2007 WO
WO 2007055682 May 2007 WO
WO 2007055704 May 2007 WO
WO 2007064857 Jun 2007 WO
WO 2007089607 Aug 2007 WO
WO 2007096134 Aug 2007 WO
WO 2007122405 Nov 2007 WO
WO 2008014979 Feb 2008 WO
WO 200842156 Apr 2008 WO
WO-2008097328 Aug 2008 WO
WO-2008098248 Aug 2008 WO
WO 2008127789 Oct 2008 WO
WO-2008141289 Nov 2008 WO
WO 2008151049 Dec 2008 WO
WO-2008151049 Dec 2008 WO
WO 2009012786 Jan 2009 WO
WO 2009023819 Feb 2009 WO
WO 2009026412 Feb 2009 WO
WO 2009051451 Apr 2009 WO
WO 2009061515 May 2009 WO
WO 2009120887 Oct 2009 WO
WO-2010060110 May 2010 WO
WO 2010060110 May 2010 WO
WO-2010081049 Jul 2010 WO
WO 2010081049 Jul 2010 WO
WO-2010120420 Oct 2010 WO
WO 2010120420 Oct 2010 WO
WO 2011017456 Feb 2011 WO
WO-2011017690 Feb 2011 WO
WO 2011037973 Mar 2011 WO
WO 2011053940 May 2011 WO
WO-2011079290 Jun 2011 WO
WO 2011079290 Jun 2011 WO
WO 2011091065 Jul 2011 WO
WO 2011113054 Sep 2011 WO
WO 2011143608 Nov 2011 WO
WO 2013012628 Jan 2013 WO
WO 2013177419 Nov 2013 WO
WO 2014025795 Feb 2014 WO
WO 2014123935 Aug 2014 WO
WO 2014133547 Sep 2014 WO
WO 2013049941 Oct 2014 WO
WO 2014175836 Oct 2014 WO
WO-2015126502 Aug 2015 WO
WO 2015153975 Oct 2015 WO
WO 2017035278 Mar 2017 WO
WO 201742336 Mar 2017 WO
WO 2017050806 Mar 2017 WO
WO 2018039629 Mar 2018 WO
WO 2018152327 Aug 2018 WO
WO 2019118883 Jun 2019 WO
Non-Patent Literature Citations (645)
Entry
Niemeyer, et al. (2003) “Bifunctional DNA-gold nanoparticle conjugates as building blocks for the self-assembly of cross-linked particle layers,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 311:995-9. (Year: 2003).
Abou-Alfa et al., Randomized phase III study of exatecan and gemcitabine compared with gemcitabine alone in untreated advanced pancreatic cancer, J. Clin. Oncol., 24(27):4441-7 (2006).
Agasti et al., Photoregulated release of caged anticancer drugs from gold nanoparticles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131(16):5728-9 (2009).
Agrawal et al., Antisence therapeutics: Is it as simple as complementary base recognition? Mol. Med. Today, 6: 72-81 (2000).
Aime et al., Insights into the use of paramagnetic Gd(III) complexes in MR-molecular imaging investigations, J. Magn. Reson. Imaging, 16(4):394-406 (2002).
Aime et al., Pushing the sensitivity envelope of lanthanide-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents for molecular imaging applications, Acc. Chem. Res., 42(7):822-31 (2009).
Alivisatos et al., Organization of ‘nanocrystal molecules’ using DNA. Nature, 382: 609-11 (1996).
Alivisatos, The use of nanocrystals in biological detection, Nat. Biotechnol., 22(1):47-52 (2004).
Allara et al., Spontaneously organized molecular assemblies. 1. Formation, dynamics, and physical properties of n-Alkanoic acids adsorbed from solution on an oxidized aluminum surface, Langmuir, 1:45-52 (1985).
Allara et al., The study of the gas-solid interaction of acetic acid with a cuprous oxide surface using reflection-absorption spectroscopy, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 49:410-21 (1974).
Alric et al., Gadolinium chelate coated gold nanoparticles as contrast agents for both X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130(18):5908-15 (2008).
Altieri, Survivin, versatile modulation of cell division and apoptosis in cancer, Oncogene, 22: 8581-9 (2003).
Altschul et al., Basic local alignment search tool, J. Mol. Biol., 215(3):403-10 (1990).
Amirkhanov et al., Design of (Gd-D03A)n-polydiamidopropanoyl-peptide nucleic acid-D(Cys-Ser-Lys-Cys) magnetic resonance contrast agents, Biopolymers, 89(12):1061-76 (2008).
Angelini et al., Reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in human sarcoma MES-SA/Dx-5 cells by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Oncol. Rep., 20(4):731-5 (2008).
Anton et al., Design and production of nanoparticles formulated from nano-emulsion templates—a review, J. Control Release, 128(3):185-99 (2008).
Aynie, et al., Spongelike alginate nanoparticles as a new potential system for the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides. Antisense Nucl. Acid Drug Dev., 9: 301-12 (1999).
Bahnemann, Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy, Pelizetti and Schiavello (Eds.) pp. 251-276 (1991).
Baker et al., Dendrimer-mediated cell transfection in vitro. Meth. Molec. Biol., 245: 67-81 (2004).
Balasubramanian et al., Biodistribution of gold nanoparticles and gene expression changes in the liver and spleen after intravenous administration in rats, Biomaterials, 31(8):2034-42 (2010).
Bardeesy et al., Pancreatic cancer biology and genetics, Nat. Rev. Cancer, 2(12):897-909 (2002).
Bath et al., DNA nanomachines, Nat. Nanotechnol., 2: 275-84 (2007).
Baudhuim, Photochemical conversion and storage of solar energy. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 251-76 (1990).
Baudhuin et al., Molecular interactions between colloidal gold, proteins, and living cells. Chapter 1: 1-17 (1989).
Berton, et al., Highly loaded nanoparticulate carrier using an hydrophobic antisense oligonucleotide complex, Eur. J. Pharma. Sci., 9: 163-70 (1999).
Besch et al., Characterization and quantification of triple helix formation in chromosomal DNA. J. Mol. Biol., 341: 979-89 (2004).
Bharali et al., Organically modified silica nanoparticles: a nonviral vector for in vivo gene delivery and expression in the brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102(32): 11539-44 (2005).
Biancone et al., Magnetic resonance imaging of gadolinium-labeled pancreatic islets for experimental transplantation, NMR Biomed., 20(1):40-8 (2007).
Bielinska et al., DNA complexing with polyamidoamine dendrimers: implications for transfection. Bioconjug Chem., 10(5): 843-50 (1999).
Birck et al., Mutation and allelic loss of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene in primary and metastatic melanoma biopsies, J. Invest. Dermatol., 114: 277-80 (2000).
Bisht et al., Polymeric nanoparticle-encapsulated curcumin (“nanocurcumin”): a novel strategy for human cancer therapy, J. Nanobiotechnology, 5:3 (2007) (18 pages).
Bowman et al., Inhibition of HIV fusion with multivalent gold nanoparticles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130(22):6896-7 (2008).
Bramhill, Bacterial cell division, Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol., 13: 395-424 (1997).
Bratu et al., Visualizing the distribution and transport of mRNAs in living cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 100: 13308-13 (2003).
Brown et al., Surface treatment of the hydrophobic drug danazol to improve drug dissolution, Int. J. Pharmaceutics, 165:227-37 (1998).
Burwell, Modified silica gels as adsorbents and catalysts, Chem. Tech., 4:370-7 (1974).
Cao et al., Raman dye-labeled nanoparticle probes for proteins, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125(48):14676-7 (2003).
Capaccioli et al., Cationic lipids improve antisense oligonucleotide uptake and prevent degradation in cultured cells and inhuman serum, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 197(2): 818-25 (1993).
Caravan et al., The interaction of MS-325 with human serum albumin and its effect on proton relaxation rates, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124(12):3152-62 (2002).
Caravan, Strategies for increasing the sensitivity of gadolinium based MRI contrast agents, Chem. Soc. Rev., 35(6):512-23 (2006).
Castoldi et al., A sensitive array for microRNA expression profiling (miChip) based on locked nucleic acids (LNA), RNA. 12: 913-20 (2006).
Cha et al., Hepatocellular carcinoma: current management, Curr. Probl. Surg., 47(1):10-67 (2010).
Chari et al., Immunoconjugates containing novel maytansinoids: promising anticancer drugs, Cancer Res., 52(1):127-31 (1992).
Charreyre et al., Fluorescence energy transfer study of the conformation of oligonucleotides covalently bound to polystyrene latex particles. Langmuir, 13: 3103-10 (1997).
Chavany et al., Polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles as polymeric carriers for antisense oligonucleotides, Pharma. Res., 9(4): 441-9 (1992).
Chavany, et al., Adsorption of oligonucleotides onto polyisohexylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles protects them against nucleases and increases their cellular uptake. Pharma. Res., 11(9): 1370-8 (1994).
Chen et al., Kinetics and thermodynamics of DNA hybridization on gold nanoparticles, Nucl. Acids Res., 37: 3756-65 (2009).
Chen et al., MDR 1 activation is the predominant resistance mechanism selected by vinblastine in MES-SA cells, Br. J. Cancer, 83(7):892-8 (2000).
Cheng et al., Tandem synthesis of core-shell brush copolymers and their transformation to peripherally cross-linked and hollowed nanostructures, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128(21):6808-9 (2006).
Cheung et al., Akt3 and mutant V600E B-Raf cooperate to promote early melanoma development, Cancer Res., 68:3429-39 (2008).
Chirila et al., The use of synthetic polymers for delivery of therapeutic antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. Biomaterials, 23: 321-42 (2002).
Chithrani et al., Determining the size and shape dependence of gold nanoparticle uptake into mammalian cells, Nano Lett., 6(4):662-8 (2006).
Chithrani et al., Elucidating the mechanism of cellular uptake and removal of protein-coated gold nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes. Nano Lett., 7: 1542-50 (2007).
Chompoosor et al., Charge dependence of ligand release and monolayer stability of gold nanoparticles by biogenic thiols, Bioconjugate Chem., 19:1342-5 (2008).
Chrisey et al., Covalent attachment of synthetic DNA to self-assembled monolayer films, Nucl. Acids Res., 24:3031-9 (1996).
Chu et al., Effects of photoactivated 5-aminolevulinic acid hexyl ester on MDR1 over-expressing human uterine sarcoma cells, Toxicol. Lett., 181(1):7-12 (2008).
Cload et al., Polyether tethered oligonucleotide probes. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 113(16): 6324-6 (1991).
Connor et al., Gold nanoparticles are taken up by human cells but do not cause acute cytotoxicity, Small, 1(3):325-7 (2005).
Crawford et al., A novel B-RAF inhibitor blocks interleukin-8 (IL-8) synthesis in human melanoma xenografts, revealing IL-8 as a potential pharmacodynamic biomarker, Mol. Cancer Ther., 7:492-9 (2008).
Crich et al., Improved route for the visualization of stem cells labeled with a Gd-/Eu-chelate as dual (MRI and fluorescence) agent, Magn. Reson. Med., 51(5):938-44 (2004).
Crooke et al., Progress in antisense technology. Ann. Rev. Med., 55: 61-95 (2004).
Daniel et al., Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology. Chem Rev., 104(1): 293-346 (2004).
Dankort et al., A new mouse model to explore the initiation, progression, and therapy of BRAFV600E-induced lung tumors, Genes Dev., 21: 379-84 (2007).
Dankort et al., Braf(V600E) cooperates with Pten loss to induce metastatic melanoma, Nat Genet., 41: 544-52 (2009).
Davies et al., A novel AKT3 mutation in melanoma tumours and cell lines, Br. J. Cancer, 99: 1265-8 (2008).
Demers et al., Combinatorial templates generated by dip-pen nanolithography for the formation of two-dimensional particle arrays, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 40: 3071-3 (2003).
DeMesmaeker et al., Antisense oligonucleotides. Acc. Chem. Res., 28(9): 366-74 (1995).
DeMesmaeker et al., Backbone modifications in oligonucleotides and peptide nucleic acid systems, Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol., 5:343-55 (1995).
Deutsch et al., Synthesis of congeners and prodrugs. 3. Water-soluble prodrugs of taxol with potent antitumor activity, J. Med. Chem., 32(4):788-92 (1989).
Devlin et al., Random peptide libraries: a source of specific protein binding molecules, Science, 249: 404-6 (1990).
Dhar et al., Polyvalent oligonucleotide gold nanoparticle conjugates as delivery vehicles for platinum(IV) warheads. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131(41): 14652-3 (2009).
Dhar et al., Targeted single wall carbon nanotube mediated Pt(IV) prodrug delivery using folate as a homing device. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130(34): 11467-76 (2008).
Dhomen et al., BRAF signaling and targeted therapies in melanoma, Hematol. Oncol. Clin. North Am., 23: 529-45, ix (2009).
Donachie, The cell cycle of Escherichia coli., Annu. Rev. Microbiol., 47: 199-230 (1993).
Dreyfus et al., Simple quantitative model for the reversible associate of DNA coated colloids, Phys. Rev. Lett., 102: 048301 (2009).
Dubertret et al., Single-mismatch detection using gold-quenched fluorescent oligonucleotides, Nat. Biotechnol., 19: 365-70 (2001).
Duimstra et al., A gadolinium chelate for detection of beta-glucuronidase: a self-immolative approach, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127(37):12847-55 (2005).
Dulkeith et al., Gold nanoparticles quench fluorescence by phase induced radiative rate suppression, Nano Lett., 5: 585-9 (2005).
Durand et al., Circular dichroism studies of an oligodeoxyribonucleotide containing a hairpin loop made of a hexaethylene glycol chain: conformation and stability. Nucl. Acids Res. , 18(21): 6353-9 (1990).
Dykxhoorn et al., Killing the messenger: short RNAs that silence gene expression, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol., 4(6):457-67 (2003).
Elaissari et al., Effect of charge nature on the adsorption of single-stranded DNA fragments onto latex particles. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 202: 251-60 (1998).
Elghanian et al., Selective colorimetric detection of polynucleotides based on the distance-dependent optical properties of gold nanoparticles, Science, 277(5329):1078-81 (1997).
Eltekova et al., Adsorption of aromatic compounds from solutions in titanium dioxide and silica, Langmuir, 3:951-7 (1987).
Endres et al., DNA-TIO2 nanoconjugates labeled with magnetic resonance contrast agents, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129(51):15760-1 and supplementary information (2007).
Examination Report from European Application No. 08729548.1, dated Jan. 19, 2010.
Fahy et al., Design and synthesis of polyacrylamide-based oligonucleotide supports for use in nucleic acid diagnostics, Nucl. Acids Res., 21: 1819-26 (1993).
Faulds et al., Evaluation of surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering for quantitative DNA analysis. Anal. Chem., 76: 412-7 (2004).
Femino et al., Visualization of single RNA transcripts in situ. Science, 280: 585-90 (1998).
Ferentz et al., Disulfide-crosslinked oligonucleotides. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 113(10): 4000-2 (1991).
Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 11/917,680, dated Nov. 10, 2010.
Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 11/917,680, dated Nov. 10, 2011.
Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/130,643, dated Jun. 16, 2011.
Flandroy et al., (D, L)Polyactide microspheres as embolic agent. Neuroradiology, 32: 311-5 (1990).
Frens, Controlled nucleation for the regulation of the particle size in monodisperse gold suspensions. Nat. Phys. Sci., 241: 20-2 (1973).
Frens, Particle size and sol stability in metal colloids, Kolloid-Zeitschrift und Zeitschrift fur Polymere, 250(7):736-41 (1972).
Frullano et al., Multimodal MRI contrast agents, J. Biol. Inorg. Chem., 12(7):939-40 (2007).
Fukuda et al., Effective transformation of unactivated alkynes into ketones or acetals by means of Au(III) catalyst, J. Org. Chem., 56(11):3729-31 (1991).
Fukuda et al., Efficient transformation of methyl propargyl ethers into alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 64:2013-5 (1991).
Furstner et al., Catalytic carbophilic activation: catalysis by platinum and gold pi acids, Angew Chem Int Ed Engl., 46(19):3410-49 (2007).
Gao et al., Secondary structure effects on DNA hybridization kinetics: a solution versus surface comparison. Nucl. Acids Res., 34: 3370-7 (2006).
Gavriel et al., Identification of programmed cell death in situ via specific labeling of nuclear DNA fragmentation, J. Cell Biol., 119(3):493-501 (1992).
Gerdes et al., Experimental determination and system level analysis of essential genes in Escherichia coli MG1655. J. Bacteriol., 185: 5673-84 (2003).
Gestwicki et al., Influencing receptor-ligand binding mechanisms with multivalent ligand architecture. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124: 14922-33 (2002).
Ghosh et al., Gold nanoparticles in delivery applications, Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 60(11):1307-15 (2008).
Gibson et al., Paclitaxel-functionalized gold nanoparticles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129(37):11653-61 (2007).
Gidwani et al., Hybridization kinetics of double-stranded DNA probes for rapid molecular analysis. Analyst, 134: 1675-81 (2009).
Giljohann et al., Gold nanoparticles for biology and medicine, Angew Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 49(19):3280-94 (2010).
Goel et al., Melanocytic nevus-like hyperplasia and melanoma in transgenic BRAFV600E mice. Oncogene, 28: 2289-98 (2009).
Goodrich et al., Non-coding-RNA regulators of RNA polymerase II transcription, Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol., 7(8):612-6 (2006).
Grabar et al., Preparation and characterization of Au colloid monolayers, Anal. Chem., 67:735-43 (1995).
Guo et al., CELL-SELEX: Novel perspectives of aptamer-based therapeutics, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 9: 668-78 (2008).
Hale et al., Recruitment of ZipA to the septal ring of Escherichia coli is dependent on FtsZ and independent of FtsA. J. Bacteriol., 181: 167-76 (1999).
Hamilton et al., A species of small antisense RNA in posttranscriptional gene silencing in plants. Science, 286: 950-2 (1999).
Hammond et al., An RNA-directed nuclease mediates post-transcriptional gene silencing in Drosophilia cells. Nature, 404: 293-6 (2000).
Han et al., A gold nanoparticle based approach for screening triplex DNA binders, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128(15):4954-5 (2006).
Hashmi et al., Gold catalysis, Angew Chem Int Ed Engl., 45(47):7896-936 (2006).
Hashmi et al., Gold-catalyzed organic reactions, Chem. Rev., 107:3180-211 (2007).
Hayashi, Ultrafine particles, Physics Today, pp. 44-60 (Dec. 1987).
Hayashi, Ultrafine particles, Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 5(4):1375-84 (1987).
Hayat, (Ed.) Colloidal Gold: Principles, Methods, and Applications, vol. 1, Table of Contents, pp. v-xvii; vol. 2, Table of Contents pp. v-xix; vol. 3, Table of Contents, pp. v-xiv, Academic Press, San Diego (1989-1991).
He et al., Colloidal Au-enhanced surface plasmon resonance for ultrasensitive detection of DNA hybridization. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 122(38): 9071-7 (2000).
Hegner et al., Modified DNA immobilized on bioreactive self-assembled monolayer on gold for dynamic force microscopy imaging in aqueous buffer solution, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 14(2):1418-21 (1996).
Hickman et al., Combining spontaneous molecular assembly with microfabrication to pattern surfaces: selective binding of isonitriles to platinum microwires and characterization by electrochemistry and surface spectroscopy, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 111:7271-2 (1989).
Holen et al., Positional effects of short interfering RNAs targeting the human coagulation trigger tissue factor. Nucl. Acids Res., 30: 1757-66 (2002).
Hu et al., Advances in high-field magnetic resonance imaging, Annu. Rev. Biomed.Eng., 6:157-84 (2004).
Hu et al., Hollow chitosan/poly(acrylic acid) nanospheres as drug carriers, Biomacromolecules, 8(4):1069-76 (2007).
Hubbard, Electrochemistry of well-defined sufaces, Acc. Chem. Res., 13:177-84 (1980).
Hurst et al., “Multisegmented one-dimensional nanorods prepared by hard-template synthetic methods,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 45:2672-2692 (2006).
Hussain et al., A novel anionic dendrimer for improved cellular delivery of antisense oligonucleotides. J. Controlled Rel., 99: 139-55 (2004).
Hwu et al., Targeted Paclitaxel by conjugation to iron oxide and gold nanoparticles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131(1):66-8 (2009).
Iler, The surface chemistry of silica (chapter 6), In: Iler, Chemistry of Silica, New York: John Wiley & Sons (1979).
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for corresponding international application No. PCT/US2010/047594, dated Mar. 6, 2012.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US10/62047, dated Jun. 26, 2012.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2006/022325, dated Dec. 17, 2007.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2008/053603, dated Aug. 11, 2009.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2008/065366, dated Dec. 1, 2009.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International application No. PCT/US2009/065822, dated May 24, 2011.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2010/020558, dated Jul. 12, 2011.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2010/044453, dated Feb. 7, 2012.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2010/044844, dated Feb. 7, 2012.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International Application No. PCT/US2010/55018, dated May 1, 2012.
International Preliminary Reporton Patentability, PCT/US2010/27363, dated Oct. 18, 2011.
International Preliminary Reporton Patentability, PCT/US2010/47591, dated Mar. 6, 2012.
International Preliminary Reporton Patentability, PCT/US2010/47594, dated Mar. 6, 2012.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for corresponding international application No. PCT/US10/47594, dated Oct. 20, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US10/62047, dated May 6, 2011.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2006/022325, dated Oct. 20, 2006.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2008/053603, dated Jul. 30, 2008.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2008/065366, dated Aug. 28, 2008.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International application No. PCT/US2008/065822, dated Mar. 5, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/020558, dated Mar. 9, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/044453, dated Apr. 29, 2011.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/044844, dated Apr. 27, 2011.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/27363, dated Apr. 15, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/47591, dated Oct. 4, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/47594, dated Oct. 8, 2010.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2010/55018, dated Dec. 9, 2010.
Jackson et al., Escherichia coli O157:H7 diarrhea associated with well water and infected cattle on an Ontario farm, Epidemiol. Infect., 120:17-20 (1998).
Jackson et al., How do microRNAs regulate gene expression?, Sci STKE, 2007(367):re1 (2007).
Jaschke et al., Automated incorporation of polyethylene glycol in synthetic oligonucleotides. Tetrahedron Lett., 34: 301-4 (1993).
Jason et al., Toxicology of antisense therapeutics. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 201(1): 66-83 (2004).
Jen et al., A nonviral transfection approach in vitro: the design of a gold nanoparticle vector joint with microelectromechanical systems. Langmuir, 20(4): 1369-74 (2004).
Jeong et al., Novel intracellular delivery system of antisense oligonucleotide by self-assembled hybrid micelles composed of DNA/PEG conjugate and cationic fusogenic peptide. Bioconjugate Chem., 14: 473-9 (2003).
Jin et al., Radiosensitization of paclitaxel, etanidazole and paclitaxel+etanidazole nanoparticles on hypoxic human tumor cells in vitro, Biomaterials, 28(25):3724-30 (2007).
Jin et al., What controls the melting properties of DNA-linked gold nanoparticle assemblies? J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125: 1643 (2003).
Kalman et al., Potentiometric and relaxometric properties of a gadolinium-based MRI contrast agent for sensing tissue pH, Inorg. Chem., 46(13):5260-70 (2007).
Kan et al., Distribution and effect of iodized poppyseed oil in the liver after hepatic artery embolization: experimental study in several animal species, Radiology, 186(3):861-6 (1993).
Kan et al., Role of Kupffer cells in iodized oil embolization, Invest. Radiol., 29(11):990-3 (1994).
Kasuya et al., Chapter 8—Bio-nanocapsule-liposome conjugates for in vivo pinpoint drug and gene delivery, Methods Enzymol., 464:147-66 (2009).
Katz et al., Integrated nanoparticle-biomolecule hybrid systems: synthesis, properties, and applications, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 43: 6042-108 (2004).
Kim et al., Biodegradable quantum dot nanocomposites enable live cell labeling and imaging of cytoplasmic targets, Nano Lett., 8(11):3887-92 (2008).
Kim et al., Direct synthesis of polymer nanocapsules with a noncovalently tailorable surface, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 46(19):3471-4 (2007).
Kim et al., Direct synthesis of polymer nanocapsules: self-assembly of polymer hollow spheres through irreversible covalent bond formation, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132(28):9908-19 (2010).
Kim et al., Facile, template-free synthesis of stimuli-responsive polymer nanocapsules for targeted drug delivery, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 49(26):4405-8 (2010).
Kloosterman et al., In situ detection of miRNAs in animal embryos using LNA-modified oligonucleotide probes, Nat. Methods, 3: 27-9 (2006).
Kolarova et al., Preparation of magnetic oligo (dT) particles, Biotechniques, 20: 196-8 (1996).
Kondo et al., Nanotube formation through the continuous one-dimensional fusion of hollow nanocapsules composed of layer-by-layer poly(lactic acid) stereocomplex films, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132(24):8236-7 (2010).
Kopylov et al., Combinatorial chemistry of nucleic acids: SELEX, Mol. Biol., 34: 940-54 (2000).
Kroschwitz (ed.), The Concise Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, pp. 858-859, New York: John Wiley & Sons (1990).
Krutzfeldt et al., Silencing of microRNAs in vivo with ‘antagomirs’, Nature, 438(7068):685-9 (2005).
Landfester et al., From polymeric particles to multifunctional nanocapsules for biomedical applications using the miniemulsion process, J. Polymer Sci. Part A, 48(3):493-515 (2010).
Lannutti et al., Human angiostatin inhibits murine hemangioendothelioma tumor growth in vivo, Cancer Res., 57: 5277-80 (1997).
Lebedeva et al., Antisense oligonucleotides: Promise and reality. Annu. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., 41: 403-19 (2001).
Lee et al., “A DNA-Gold Nanoparticle-Based Colormetric Competition Assay for the Detection of Cysteine,” Nano Letter, 8(2):529-533 (2008).
Lee et al., Adsorption of ordered zirconium phosphonate multilayer films on silicon and gold surfaces, J. Phys. Chem., 92:2597-601 (1988).
Lee et al., Chip-based scanometric detection of mercuric ion using DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles, Anal. Chem., 80(17):6805-8 (2008).
Lee et al., Colorimetric detection of mercuric ion (Hg2+) in aqueous media using DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 46(22):4093-6 (2007).
Lemaigre et al., Transcriptional control of genes that regulate glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in adult liver, Biochem. J., 303: 1-14 (1994).
Leslie et al., A new tool for oligonucleotides import into cells. Clin. Chem., 55: 609-10 (2009).
Leunissen et al., Switchable self-protected attractions in DNA-functionalized colloids. Nat. Mater., 8: 590-95 (2009).
Lewis, “Controlled release of bioactive agents from lactide/glycolide polymer”, pp. 1-41, IN: Chasin et al. (eds.), Biodegradable Polymers as Drug Delivery Systems, Marcel Dekker (1990).
Li et al., Dual-reactive surfactant used for synthesis of functional nanocapsules in miniemulsion, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132(23):7823-5 (2010).
Li et al., Gold-catalyzed organic transformations, Chem. Rev., 108(8):3239-65 (2008).
Li et al., Reversible and chemically programmable micelle assembly with DNA block-copolymer amiphiphiles, Nano Lett., 4(6):1055-8 (2004).
Lin et al., Effector/memory but not naive regulatory T cells are responsible for the loss of concomitant tumor immunity. J. Immunol., 182: 6095-104 (2009).
Lin et al., Modeling genomic diversity and tumor dependency in malignant melanoma. Cancer Res., 68: 664-73 (2003).
Link et al., Size and Temperature Dependence of the Plasmon Absorption of Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles, J. Phys. Chem. B, 103(21):4212-7 (1999).
Lipshutz et al., High density synthetic oligonucleotide arrays. Nanotechnology, 14: R15-27 (2003).
Liu et al., Accelerated color change of gold nanoparticles assembled by DNAzymes for simple and fast colorimetric Pb2+ detection. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126: 12298-305 (2004).
Liu et al., ARDB—Antibiotic Resistance Genes Database. Nucl. Acids Res., 37: D443-7 (2009).
Liu et al., Argonaute2 is the catalytic engine of mammalian RNAi. Science, 305(5689): 1437-41 (2004).
Liu et al., Cross-linked polynorbornene-coated gold nanoparticles: dependence of particle stability on cross-linking position and cross-linker structure, Langmuir, 24:11169-74 (2008).
Liu et al., De-N-acetyl GM3 promotes melanoma cell migration and invasion through urokinase plasminogen activator receptor signaling-dependent MMP-2 activation. Cancer Res., 69: 8662-9 (2009).
Liu et al., DNA-based micelles: synthesis, micellar properties and size-dependent cell permeability, Chemistry, 16(12):3791-7 (2010).
Liu et al., New poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s induce DNA nanoparticle formation and efficient gene delivery into mammalian cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126: 7422-3 (2004).
Liu et al., Rational design of “turn-on” allosteric DNAzyme catalytic beacons for aqueous mercury ions with ultrahigh sensitivity and selectivity, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 46(60):7587-90 (2007).
Liu et al., Synthesis, stability, and cellular internalization of gold nanoparticles containing mixed peptide-poly(ethylene glycol) monolayers. Anal. Chem., 79: 2221-9 (2007).
Llovet et al., Arterial embolisation or chemoembolisation versus symptomatic treatment in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a randomised controlled trial, Lancet, 359(9319):1734-9 (2002).
Loeken, Effects of mutation of the CREB binding site of the somatostatin promoter on cyclic AMP responsiveness in CV-1 cells. Gene Expr., 3: 253-64 (1993).
Love et al., Self-assembled monolayers of thiolates on metals as a form of nanotechnology. Chem. Rev., 105: 1103-69 (2005).
Lutkenhaus et al., Bacterial cell division and the Z ring. Annu. Rev. Biochem., 66: 93-116 (1997).
Lytton-Jean et al., A thermodynamic investigation into the binding properties of DNA functionalized gold nanoparticle probes and molecular fluorophore probes. J. Am. Chem Soc., 127: 12754-5 (2005).
Ma et al., Design and synthesis of RNA miniduplexes via a synthetic linker approach. 2. Generation of covalently closed, double-stranded cyclic HIV-1 TAR RNA analogs with high Tat-binding affinity. Nucl. Acids Res., 21: 2585-9 (1993).
Ma et al., Design and synthesis of RNA miniduplexes via a synthetic linker approach. Biochemistry, 32(7): 1751-8 (1993).
Major et al., Bioresponsive, cell-penetrating, and multimeric MR contrast agents, Acc. Chem. Res., 42(7):893-903 (2009).
Major et al., The synthesis and in vitro testing of a zinc-activated MRI contrast agent, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104(35):13881-6 (2007).
Maoz et al., Penetration-controlled reactions in organized monolayer assemblies. 1. Aqueous permanganate interaction with monolayer and multilayer films of long-chain surfactants, Langmuir, 3:1034-44 (1987).
Maoz et al., Penetration-controlled reactions in organized monolayer assemblies. 2. Aqueous permanganate interaction with self-assembling monolayers of long-chain surfactants, Langmuir, 3:1045-51 (1987).
Martinez et al., Locked nucleic acid based beacons for surface interaction studies and biosensor development. Anal. Chem., 81: 3448-54 (2009).
Maruyama, et al., Nanoparticle DNA carrier with poly(L-lysine) grafted polysaccharide copolymer and poly(D,L-lactic acid). Bioconjugate Chem., 8: 735-742 (1997).
Massart, Preparation of aqueous magnetic liquids in alkaline and acidic media. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. 17(2): 1247-8 (1981).
Matsuura et al., Construction and characterization of protein libraries composed of secondary structure modules. Protein Sci., 11: 2631-43 (2002).
Matteucci et al., Synthesis of deoxyoligonucleotides on a polymer support, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103:3185-3191 (1981).
Mattson et al., A practical approach to crosslinking. Molec. Biol. Rep., 17: 167-83 (1993).
Maxwell et al., Self-assembled nanoparticle probes for recognition and detection of biomolecules. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124: 9606-12 (2002).
Maye et al., A simple method for kinetic control of DNA-induced nanoparticle assembly. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128: 14020-1 (2006).
McCurdy et al., Deoxyligonucleotides with inverted polarity: Synthesis and use in triple-helix formation. Nucleosides & Nucleotides, 10:287-90 (1991).
McGehee et al., Differentiation-specific element: a cis-acting developmental switch required for the sustained transcriptional expression of the angiotensinogen gene during hormonal-induced differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to adipocytes. Mol. Endocrinol., 7: 551-60 (1993).
McKenzie et al., Sequence-specific DNA detection using high-affinity LNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Small, 3(11): 1866-8 (2007).
McManus et al., Gene silencing in mammals by small interfering RNAs. Nat. Rev. Genet., 3(10): 737-47 (2002).
Mendell, MicroRNAs: critical regulators of development, cellular physiology and malignancy, Cell Cycle, 4(9):1179-84 (2005).
Merbach et al. (eds.), The Chemistry of Contrast Agents in Medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 1st ed., New York: Wiley (2001).
Miller et al., Antisense oligonucleotides: Strategies for delivery. PSTT, 1(9): 377-86 (1998).
Milne et al., An approach to gene-specific transcription inhibition using oligonucleotides complementary to the template strand of the open complex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 97(7): 3136-41 (2000).
Mirkin et al., A DNA-based method for rationally assembling nanoparticles into macroscopic materials, Nature, 382(6592):607-9 (1996).
Mittal, Improving the efficiency of RNA interference in mammals, Nat. Rev. Genet., 5(5):355-65 (2004).
Modo et al., Mapping transplanted stem cell migration after a stroke: a serial, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging study, Neuroimage, 21(1):311-7 (2004).
Moriggi et al., Gold nanoparticles functionalized with gadolinium chelates as high-relaxivity MRI contrast agents, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131(31):10828-9 (2009).
Moughton et al., Hollow nanostructures from self-assembled supramolecular metallo-triblock copolymers, Soft Matter, 5(12):2361-70 (2009).
Mucic et al., Synthesis and characterization of DNA with ferrocenyl groups attached to their 5′-termini: electrochemical characterization of a redox-active nucleotide monolayer, Chem. Comm., 555-7 (1996).
Myers et al., A cyclopentane conformational restraint for a peptide nucleic acid: design, asymmetric synthesis, and improved binding affinity to DNA and RNA. Org Lett., 5(15): 2695-8 (2003).
Nam et al., Nanoparticle-based bio-bar codes for the ultrasensitive detection of proteins. Science, 301: 1884-6 (2003).
Nitin et al., Peptide-linked molecular beacons for efficient delivery and rapid mRNA detection in living cells. Nucl. Acids Res., 32: e58 (2004).
Nitin, et al. “Oligonucleotide-Coated Metallic Nanoparticles as a Flexible Platform for Molecular Imaging Agents,” Bioconjugate Chem. 18:2090-2096 (2007).
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 11/917,680, dated Jun. 8, 2011.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/130,643, dated Jan. 13, 2011.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/526,560, dated Mar. 15, 2012.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/625,537, dated May 23, 2012.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/684,836, dated Jan. 6, 2012.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/684,836, dated May 17, 2012.
Non-Final Office Action issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 12/724,395, dated Feb. 17, 2012.
Notice of Allowance issued in connection with U.S. Appl. No. 11/917,680, dated Apr. 26, 2012.
Nuzzo et al., Spontaneously organized molecular assemblies. 3. Preparation and properties of solution adsorbed monolayers of organic disulfides on gold surfaces, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 109:2358-68 (1987).
Nykypanchuk et al., DNA-guided crystallization of colloidal nanoparticles. Nature, 451: 549-52 (2008).
O'Meara et al., Capture of single-stranded DNA assisted by oligonucleotide modules. Anal. Biochem., 255: 195-203 (1998).
O'Reilly et al., Identification of an activating transcription factor (ATF) binding site in the human transforming growth factor-beta 2 promoter. J. Biol. Chem., 267: 19938-43 (1992).
Ohishi et al., Hepatocellular carcinoma detected by iodized oil. Use of anticancer agents, Radiology, 154(1):25-9 (1985).
Ohuchi et al., In vitro method for the generation of protein libraries using PCR amplification of a single DNA molecule and coupled transcription/translation, Nucl. Acids Res., 26: 4339-46 (1998).
Okayasu et al., Selective and persistent deposition and gradual drainage of iodized oil, Lipiodol in the hepatocellular carcinoma after injection into the feeding hepatic artery, Am. J. Clin. Pathol., 90(5):536-44 (1988).
Ono et al., DNA triplex formation of oligonucleotide analogues consisting of linker groups and octamer segments that have opposite sugar-phosphate backbone polarities. Biochemistry, 30(41): 9914-2 (1991).
Opalinska et al., Nucleic-acid therapeutics: basic principles and recent applications. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov., 1: 503-14 (2002).
Ow Sullivan et al., Development of a novel gene delivery scaffold utilizing colloidal gold-polyethylenimine conjugates for DNA condensation. Gene Ther., 10(22): 1882-90 (2003).
Ozpolat et al., Nanomedicine based approaches for the delivery of siRNA in cancer, J. Intern. Med., 267(1):44-53 (2010).
Paciotti et al., Colloidal gold: a novel nanoparticle vector for tumor directed drug delivery, Drug Deliv., 11(3):169-83 (2004).
Parak et al., Biological applications of colloidal nanocrystals, Nanotechnol., 14: R15-27 (2003).
Park et al., Array-based electrical detection of DNA with nanoparticle probes. Science, 295: 1503-6 (2002).
Park et al., DNA-programmable nanoparticle cystrallization. Nature, 451: 553-6 (2008).
Park et al., Gold nanoparticles functionalised by Gd-complex of DTPA-bis(amide) conjugate of glutathione as an MRI contrast agent, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 18(23):6135-7 (2008).
Parrish et al., Functional anatomy of a dsRNA trigger: Differential requirement for the two trigger strands in RNA interference. Mol. Cell, 6: 1077-87 (2000).
Patel et al., Peptide antisense nanoparticles. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105: 17222-6 (2008).
Patel et al., Scavenger receptors mediate cellular uptake of polyvalent oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles, Bioconjug. Chem., 21(12):2250-6 (2010).
Patil et al., DNA-based therapeutics and DNA delivery systems: a comprehensive review. AAPS J., 7(1):E61-77 (2005).
Paunesku et al., Gadolinium-conjugated TiO2-DNA oligonucleotide nanoconjugates show prolonged intracellular retention period and T1-weighted contrast enhancement in magnetic resonance images, Nanomedicine, 4(3):201-7 (2008).
Peng et al., Real-time detection of gene expression in cancer cells using molecular beacon imaging: New strategies for cancer research. Cancer Res., 65: 1909-17 (2005).
Penn et al., Nanoparticles for bioanalysis. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 7: 609-15 (2003).
Peracchi, Prospects for antiviral ribozymes and deoxyribozymes. Rev. Med. Virol., 14: 47-64 (2004).
Perlette et al., Real-time monitoring of intracellular mRNA hybridization inside single living cells. Anal. Chem., 73: 5544-50 (2001).
Pon, Solid-phase supports for oligonucleotide synthesis. Meth. Molec. Biol., 20: 465-96 (1993).
Prausnitz et al., Transdermal drug delivery, Nat. Biotechnol., 26: 1261-8 (2008).
Prigodich et al., Nano-flares for mRNA regulation and detection. ACS Nano, 3: 2147-52 (2009).
Prime et al., Self-assembled organic monolayers; Model systems for studing adsorption of proteins at surfaces. Science, 252: 1164-7 (1991).
Raj et al., Stochastic mRNA synthesis in mammalian cells. PLoS Biol., 4(10): e309 (2006).
Rethore et al., Preparation of chitosan/polyglutamic acid spheres based on the use of polystyrene template as nonviral gene carrier. Tissue Engineering, 15(4): 605-13 (2009).
Rethore et al., Use of templates to fabricate nanoscale spherical structures for defined architectural control, Small, 6(4):488-98 (2010).
Riccelli et al., Hybridization of single-stranded DNA targets to immobilized complementary DNA probes: comparison of hairpin versus linear capture probes. Nucl. Acids Res., 29: 996-1004 (2001).
Richardson et al., Tethered oligonucleotide probes. A strategy for the recognition of structured RNA. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 113(13): 5109-11 (1991).
Rihova et al., Receptor-mediated targeted drug or toxin delivery. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., 29(3): 273-89 (1998).
Rizzo et al., Chimeric RNA-DNA molecular beacon assay for ribonuclease H activity. Mol. Cell Probes, 16:277-83 (2002).
Rosi et al., Nanostructures in biodiagnostics, Chem. Rev., 105(4):1547-62 (2005).
Sadauskas et al., Protracted elimination of gold nanoparticles from mouse liver, Nanomedicine, 5(2):162-9 (2009).
Sandhu et al., Gold nanoparticle-mediated transfection of mammalian cells. Bioconjugate Chem., 13: 3-6 (2002).
Santangelo et al., Dual FRET molecular beacons for mRNA detection in living cells. Nucl. Acids Res., 32:e57 (2004).
Santangelo et al., Nanostructured probes for RNA detection in living cells. Ann. Biomed. Eng., 34:39-50 (2006).
Schifferlers et al., Cancer siRNA therapy by tumor selective delivery with ligand-targeted sterically stabilized nanoparticle. Nucl. Acid Res., 32(19): e149 (2004).
Seela et al., Oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing 1,3-propanediol as nucleoside substitute. Nucl. Acids Res., 15(7): 3113-29 (1987).
Seelig et al., Catalyzed relaxation of a metastable DNA fuel. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128: 12211-20 (2006).
Seferos et al., “Polyvalent DNA nanoparticle conjugates stabilize nucleic acids,” Nano Lett. 9(1):308-11 (2009).
Seferos et al., Locked nucleic acid-nanoparticle conjugates. Chembiochem., 8: 1230-2 (2007).
Sharma et al., Characterization of MRI contrast agent-loaded polymeric nanocapsules as versatile vehicle for targeted imaging, Contrast Media Mol. Imaging, 5(2):59-69 (2010).
Sharma et al., Mutant V599EB-Raf regulates growth and vascular development of malignant melanoma tumors. Cancer Res., 65: 2412-21 (2005).
Sharma et al., Targeting Akt3 signaling in malignant melanoma using isoselenocyanates. Clin. Cancer Res., 15:.1674-85 (2009).
Sharma et al., Targeting mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase in the mutant (V600E) B-Raf signaling cascade effectively inhibits melanoma lung metastases. Cancer Res., 66: 8200-9 (2006).
Sharp et al., RNA interference—2001. Genes Dev., 15: 485-90 (2001).
Shu et al., Gradient cross-linked biodegradable polyelectrolyte nanocapsules for intracellular protein drug delivery, Biomaterials, 31(23):6039-49 (2010).
Simmel et al., DNA nanodevices. Small, 1: 284-99 (2005).
Skwarczynski et al., Paclitaxel prodrugs: toward smarter delivery of anticancer agents, J. Med. Chem., 49(25):7253-69 (2006).
Smith et al., Bioconjugated quantum dots for in vivo molecular and cellular imaging, Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., 60(11):1226-40 (2008).
Sokol et al., Real time detection of DNA.RNA hybridization in living cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 11538-43 (1998).
Song et al., Synthesis of multimeric MR contrast agents for cellular imaging, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130(21):6662-3 (2008).
Soriaga et al., “Determination of the orientation of aromatic molecules adsorbed on platinum electrodes. The effect of solute concentration.” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 104:3937-3945 (1982).
Srivastava et al., Use of riboprobes for northern blotting analysis. Biotechniques, 11 (5): Abstract (1991).
Stahl et al., Deregulated Akt3 activity promotes development of malignant melanoma, Cancer Res., 64: 7002-10(2004).
Stephenson et al., Inhibition of Rous sarcoma viral RNA translation by a specific oligodeoxyribonucleotide. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 75(1): 285-8 (1978).
Stoermer et al., Distance-dependent emission from dye-labeled oligonucleotides on striped Au/Ag nanowires: effect of secondary structure and hybridization efficiency. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128: 13243-54 (2006).
Stoeva et al., Multiplexed detection of protein cancer markers with biobarcoded nanoparticle probes. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128: 8378-9 (2006).
Storhoff et al., One-pot colorimetric differentiation of polynucleotides with single base imperfections using gold nanoparticle probes, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 120:1959-64 (1998).
Storhoff et al., What controls the optical properties of DNA-linked gold nanoparticle assemblies? J. Am. Chem. Soc., 122: 4640-50 (2000).
Storz et al., An abundance of RNA regulators, Annu. Rev. Biochem., 74:199-217 (2005).
Sugihara et al., One-pot synthesis of biomimetic shell cross-linked micelles and nanocages by ATRP in alcohol/water mixtures, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 48(20):3500-3 (2010).
Sun et al., Ganglioside loss promotes survival primarily by activating integrin-linked kinase/Akt without phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase signaling. J. Invest. Dermatol., 119: 107-17 (2002).
Sundaram et al., Particle-mediated delivery of recombinant expression vectors to rabbit skin induces high-titered polyclonal antisera (and circumvents purification of a protein immunogen). Nucl. Acids Res., 24(7): 1375-7 (1996).
Tan et al., Facile synthesis of hybrid silica nanocapsules by interfacial templating condensation and their application in fluorescence imaging, Chem. Commun. (Camb.), Nov. 7(41):6240-2 (2009).
Taton et al., Scanometric DNA array detection with nanoparticle probes, Science, 289(5485):1757-60 (2000).
Thomas et al., Conjugation to gold nanoparticles enhances polyethylenimine's transfer of plasmid DNA into mammalian cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 100(16): 9138-43 (2003).
Thompkins et al., The study of the gas-solid interaction of acetic acid with a cuprous oxide surface using reflection-absorption spectroscopy. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 49: 410-21 (1974).
Thurn et al., Labeling TiO2 nanoparticles with dyes for optical fluorescence microscopy and determination of TiO2-DNA nanoconjugate stability, Small, 5(11):1318-25 (2009).
Timmons et al., Investigation of fatty acid monolayers on metals by contact potential measurements, J. Phys. Chem., 69:984-90 (1965).
Tkachenko et al., Cellular trajectories of peptide-modified gold particle complexes: comparison of nuclear localization signals and peptide transduction domains. Bioconjugate Chem., 15(3): 482-90 (2004).
Tkachenko et al., Multifunctional gold nanoparticle-peptide complexes for nuclear targeting. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125: 4700-1 (2003).
Treisman, The SRE: a growth factor responsive transcriptional regulator. Semin. Cancer Biol., 1: 47-58 (1990).
Tsao et al., Genetic interaction between NRAS and BRAF mutations and PTEN/MMAC1 inactivation in melanoma. J. Invest. Dermatol., 122: 337-41 (2004).
Turberfield et al., DNA fuel for free-running nanomachines. Phys. Rev. Lett., 90: 118102 (2003).
Turner et al., Nanoscale Cage-like Structures Derived from Polyisoprene-Containing Shell Cross-linked Nanoparticle Templates, Nano Lett., 4(4):683-8 (2004).
Tyagi et al., Molecular beacons: Probes that fluoresce upon hybridization. Nat. Biotechnol., 14: 303-8 (1996).
Vasiliskov et al., Parallel multiplex thermodynamic analysis of coaxial base stacking in DNA duplexes by oligodeoxyribonucleotide microchips. Nucl. Acids Res., 29: 2303-13 (2001).
Virmani et al., Comparison of two different methods for inoculating VX2 tumors in rabbit livers and hind limbs, J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol., 19(6):931-6 (2008).
Wagner et al., Gene inhibition using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. Nature, 372: 333-5 (1994).
Wang et al., Ganglioside GM3 inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-9 activation and disrupts its association with integrin, J. Biol. Chem., 278: 25591-9 (2003).
Wang et al., Ganglioside GM3 promotes carcinoma cell proliferation via urokinase plasminogen activator-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase-independent p70S6 kinase signaling, J. Invest. Dermatol., 126: 2687-96 (2006).
Wang et al., Inhibition of integrin-linked kinase/protein kinase B/Akt signaling: mechanism for ganglioside-induced apoptosis. J. Biol. Chem., 276: 44504-11 (2001).
Wang et al., Locked nucleic acid molecular beacons. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127: 15664-5 (2005).
Wang et al., Molecular engineering of DNA: molecular beacons. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 48: 856-70 (2009).
Wang et al., Nanoparticles for multiplex diagnostics and imaging. Nanomedicine (Lond.), 1: 413-26 (2006).
Wang et al., Speeding up a single-molecule DNA device with a simple catalyst. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin. Soft Matter. Phys., 72: 051918 (2005).
Wang et al., Superparamagnetic sub-5 nm Fe@C nanoparticles: isolation, structure, magnetic properties, and directed assembly, Nano Lett., 8(11):3761-5 (2008).
Wasserman et al., Structure and reactivity of alkylsiloxane monolayers formed by reaction of alkyltrichlorosilanes on silicon substrates, Langmuir, 5:1074-87 (1989).
Wei et al., A study of the relationships between oligonucleotide properties and hybridization signal intensities from NimbleGen microarray datasets. Nucl. Acids Res., 36: 2926-38 (2008).
Wellbrock et al., V599EB-RAF is an oncogene in melanocytes. Cancer Res., 64: 2338-42 (2004).
Whitesides, Proceedings of the Robert A. Welch Foundation 39th Conference on Chemical Research Nanophase Chemistry, Houston, Tex., pp. 109-121 (1995).
Wikipedia entry on Aspirin, Last modified on Oct. 6, 2010 (online). Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2010). Retrieved from the Internet: <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin>.
Wikipedia entry on Phenylbutazone. Last modified on Sep. 20, 2010. Online. (Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2010). Retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylbutazone>.
Wikipedia entry on Warfarin. Last modified on Oct. 5, 2010. (Online) (Retrieved on Oct. 8, 2010). Retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/Warfarin>.
Winter et al., Molecular imaging by MRI, Curr. Cardiol. Rep. 8(1):65-9 (2006).
Wolf et al., Rapid hybridization kinetics of DNA attached to submicron latex particles. Nucl. Acids Res., 15: 2911-26 (1987).
Xia, Nanomaterials at work in biomedical research, Nat. Mater., 7(10):758-60 (2008).
Xu et al., A gold-nanoparticle-based real-time colorimetric screening method for endonuclease activity and inhibition, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 46(19):3468-70 (2007).
Xu et al., Homogeneous detection of nucleic acids based upon the light scattering properties of silver-coated nanoparticle probes, Anal. Chem., 79(17):6650-4 (2007).
Xu et al., Thermodynamics of DNA hybridization on gold nanoparticles. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127(38): 13227-31 (2005).
Yang et al., Evidence that processed small dsRNAs may mediate sequence-specific mRNA degradation during RNAi in Drosophila embryos. Curr. Biol., 10: 1191-200 (2000).
Ye et al., Characterization of a silencer regulatory element in the human interferon-gamma promoter. J. Biol. Chem., 269: 25728-34 (1994).
Yin Win et al., Effects of particle size and surface coating on cellular uptake of polymeric nonparticles for oral delivery of anticancer drugs. Biomaterials, 26: 2713-22 (2005).
You et al., Detection and identification of proteins using nanoparticle-fluorescent polymer ‘chemical nose’ sensors. Nat. Nanotechnol., 2: 318-23 (2007).
You et al., Engineering the nanoparticle-biomacromolecule interface. Soft Matter, 2: 190-204 (2006).
Zabner et al., Cellular and molecular barriers to gene transfer by a cationic lipid. J. Biol. Chem., 270: 18997-9007 (1995).
Zamecnik et al., Inhibition of Rous sarcoma virus replication and cell transformation by a specific oligodeoxynucleotide. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 75(1): 280-4 (1978).
Zamore et al., RNAi: double-stranded RNA directs the ATP-dependent cleavage of mRNA at 21 to 23 nucleotide intervals. Cell, 101: 25-33 (2000).
Zhang et al., A novel paclitaxel-loaded poly(epsilon-caprolactone)/Poloxamer 188 blend nanoparticle overcoming multidrug resistance for cancer treatment, Acta Biomater., 6(6):2045-52 (2010).
Zhang et al., Cationic shell-crosslinked knedel-like nanoparticles for highly efficient gene and oligonucleotide transfection of mammalian cells, Biomaterials, 30(5):968-77 (2009).
Zhang et al., Control of DNA strand displacement kinetics using toehold exchange. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131: 17303-14 (2009).
Zhang et al., PowerBLAST: a new network BLAST application for interactive or automated sequence analysis and annotation, Genome Res., 7(6):649-56 (1997).
Zhang et al., Self-assembled monolayers of terminal alkynes on gold, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129(16):4876-7 (2007).
Zhang et al., Single-quantum-dot-based DNA sensor. Nat. Mater., 4: 826-31 (2005).
Zhao et al., A rapid bioassay for single bacterial cell quantitation using bioconjugated nanoparticles, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101(42):15027-32 (2004).
Zheng et al., Aptamer nano-flares for molecular detection in living cells. Nano Lett., 9: 3258-61 (2009).
Zimmer, Antisense oligonucleotide delivery with polyhexylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles as carriers. Methods, 18: 286-95 (1999).
U.S. Appl. No. 13/518,443, Published as US-2013/0178610, filed Oct. 3, 2012.
U.S. Appl. No. 15/337,674, Published as US-2017/0044544, filed Oct. 28, 2016.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability from International Application No. PCT/US2015/062005 dated May 23, 2017.
Ahmadi et al., “Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles,” Science 272(5270):1924-1926 (1996).
Bahnemann, “Mechanisms of Organic Transformations on Semiconductor Particles,” in Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (eds. Pelizetti and Schiavello) p. 251-276 (1991).
Brus, “Quantum Crystallites and Nonlinear Optics,” Appl. Phys. A., 53:465-474 (1991).
Chen et al., “Ionic strength-dependent persistence lengths of single-stranded RNA and DNA,” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109:799-804 (2012).
Cheng et al., “Synthesis of linear, beta-cyclodextrin-based polymers and their camptothecin conjugates,” Bioconjug Chem 14: 1007-1017 (2003).
Choi et al., “Mechanism for the endocytosis of spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates,” Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 110: 7625-7630 (2013).
Concise Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, “Polynucleotides,” J. I. Kroschwitz Ed., John Wiley & Sons, pp. 858-859 (1990).
Cook, “Medicinal chemistry of antisense oligonucleotides—future opportunities,” Anti-Cancer Drug Design 6:585-607 (1991).
Crawford et al., “Peptide aptamers: Tools for biology and drug discovery,” Briefings in Functional Genomics and Proteomics, 2(1):72-79 (2003).
Crooke, S. T. and Lebleu, B., Ed., CRC Press “Antisense Research and Applications” Table of Contents (1993).
Curtis et al, “A Morphology-Selective Copper Organosol,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 27:1530-1533 (1988).
Cutler et al., “Spherical Nucleic Acids,” J Am Chem Soc 134: 1376-1391 (2012).
De Mesmaeker et. al., “Backbone modifications in oligonucleotides and peptide nucleic acid systems,” Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 5:343-355 (1995).
Demers et al., “Thermal Desoprtion Behavior and Binding Properties of DNA Bases and Nucleosides on Gold,” J A Chem Soc 124:11248-11249 (2002).
Englisch et al., “Chemically Modified Oligonucleotides as Probes and Inhibitors,” Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 30(6):613-722 (1991).
Enüstün et al., “Coagulation of Colloidal Gold,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 85:3317-3328 (1963).
Fattal et al., “Biodegradable polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles for the delivery of oligonucleotides,” J. Controlled Release 53:137-143 (1998).
Freier et al., “The ups and downs of nucleic acid duplex stability: structure-stability studies on chemically-modified DNA:RNA duplexes,” Nucleic Acids Research, 25(22):4429-4443 (1997).
Gehring et al., “A tetrameric DNA structure with protonated cytosine-cytosine base pairs,” Nature 363:561-565 (1993).
Giljohann et al., “Gene Regulation with Polyvalent siRNA-Nanoparticle Conjugates,” J Am Chem Soc 131: 2072-2073 (2009).
Giljohann et al., “Oligonucleotide Loading Determines Cellular Uptake of DNA-Modified Gold Nanoparticles,” Nano Lett 7: 3818-3821 (2007).
Hayashi, “Ultrafine particles,” J. Vac. Sci. technol. 5(4):1375-1384 (1987).
Hayashi, “Ultrafine Particles,” Physics Today 44-60 (1987).
Henglein et al., “Absorption Spectrum and Some Chemical Reactions of Colloidal Platinum in Aqueous Solution,” J. Phys. Chem., 99:14129-14136 (1995).
Henglein, “Mechanism of Reactions on Colloidal Microelectrodes and Size Quantization Effects,” Top. Curr. Chem., 143:113-180 (1988).
Henglein, “Small-Particle Research: Physiochemical Properties of Extremely Small Colloidal Metal and Semiconductor Particles,” Chem. Rev., 89:1861-1873 (1989).
Hurst et al., “Maximizing DNA Loading on a Range of Gold Nanoparticle Sizes,” Anal Chem 78(24): 8313-8318 (2006).
Huxley et al., “Preferential Staining of Nucleic Acid-Containing Structures for Electron Microscopy,” J Biophys Biochem Cytol 11:273-296 (1961).
International search report and written opinion from PCT/US15/62005 dated May 19, 2016.
Jensen et al., “Spherical Nucleic Acid Nanoparticle Conjugates as an RNAi-Based Therapy for Glioblastoma,” Sci Transl Med 5, 209ra152 (2013).
Katz, “The reversible reaction of sodium thymonucleate and mercuric chloride,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 74:2238-2245 (1951).
Kimura-Suda et al., “Base-Dependent Competive Adsorption of Single-Stranded DNA on Gold,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 125: 9014-9015 (2003).
Kopylov et al., “Combinatorial Chemistry of Nucleic Acids: SELEX,” Molecular Biology 34(6): 940-954 (2000) tranlsated from Molekulyarnaya Biologiya, vol. 34, No. 6 pp. 1097-1113 (2000).
Kosturko et al., “The Crystal and Molecular Structure of a 2:1 Complex of 1-Methylthymine-Mercury(II),” Biochemistry, 13:3949-3952 (1974).
Kukowska-Latallo et al., “Efficient transfer of genetic material into mammalian cells using Starburst polyamidoamine dendrimers,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:4897-4902 (1996).
Kumar et al., “Directional conjugation of antibodies to nanoparticles for synthesis of multiplexed optical contrast agents with both delivery and targeting moieties,” Nat Protoc 3:314-320 (2008).
Liu et al., “New Poly(D-glucaramidoamine)s Induce DNA Nanoparticle Formation and Efficient Gene Delivery into Mammalian Cells,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126:7422-7423 (2004).
Marinakos et al., “Gold Nanoparticles as Templates for the Synthesis of Hollow Nanometer-Sized Conductive Polymer Capsules,” Adv. Mater. 11: 34-37 (1999).
Marinakos et al., “Template Synthesis of One-Dimensional Au, Au-Poly(pyrrole), and Poly(pyrrole) Nanoparticle Arrays,” Chem. Mater. 10:1214-19 (1998).
Martin et al., “A New Access to 2′O-Alkylated Ribonucleosides and Properties of 2′-O-Alkylated Oligoribonucleotides,” Helv. Chim. Acta, 78:486-504 (1995).
Massart, “Preparation of Aqueous Magnetic Liquids in Alkaline and Acidic Media,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 17:1247-1248 (1981).
Massich et al., “Regulating Immune Response Using Polyvalent Nucleic Acid-Gold Nanoparticle Conjugates,” Mol Pharm 6: 1934-1940 (2009).
Matijevic et al., “Fine Particles Part II: Formation Mechanisms and Applications,” MRS Bulletin pp. 16-47 (1990).
Nielsen et al., “Sequence-selective recognition of DNA by strand displacement with a thymine-substituted polyamide,” Science, 254:1497-1500 (1991).
Olshavsky et al., “Organometallic Synthesis of GaAs Crystallites Exhibiting Quantum Confinement,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112, 9438-9439 (1990).
Opdahl et al., “Independent control of grafting density and conformation of single-stranded DNA brushes,” Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 104: 9-14 (2007).
Parrish et al., “Soluble Camptothecin Derivatives Prepared by Click Cycloaddition Chemistry on Functional Aliphatic Polyesters,” Bioconjugate Chem. 18: 263-267 (2006).
Pearson et al., “Polynucleotide Binding to Macrophage Scavenger Receptors Depends on the Formation of Base-quartet-stabilized Four-stranded Helices,” J Biol Chem 268: 3546-3554 (1993).
Prasad, et al. “Oligonucleotides Tethered to a Short Polyguanylic Acid Stretch are Targeted to Macrophages: Enhanced Antiviral Activity of a Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Specific Antisense Oligonucleotide,” Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 43(11):2689-2696 (1999).
Rosi et al., “Oligonucleotide-Modified Gold Nanoparticles for Intracellular Gene Regulation,” Science 312: 1027-1030 (2006).
Sanghvi, “Heterocyclic Base Modification in Nucleic Acids and Their Applications in Antisense Oligonucleotides,” Chapter 15 in Antisense Research and Application, Ed. S. T. Crooke and B. Lebleu, CRC Press (1993).
Seferos et al., “Nano-Flares: Probes for Transfection and mRNA Detection in Living Cells,” J Am Chem Soc 129: 15477-15479 (2007).
Sen et al., “Formation of parallel four-stranded complexes by guanine-rich motifs in DNA and its implications for meiosis,” Nature 334:364-366 (1988).
Stefanis et al., “Caspase-Dependent and -Independent Death of Camptothecin-Treated Embryonic Cortical Neurons,” J Neurosci 19(15):6235-6247 (1999).
Storhoff et al., “Sequence-Dependent Stability of DNA-Modified Gold Nanoparticles,” Langmuir 18: 6666-6670 (2002).
Thomas, “The Interaction of HgCl2 with Sodium Thymonucleate,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 76:6032-6034 (1954).
Tondelli, et al., “Highly efficient cellular uptake of c-myb antisense oligonucleotides through specifically designed polymeric nanospheres,” Nucl. Acids Res. 26:5425-5431 (1998).
Tuerk et al., “Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment: RNA Ligands to Bacteriophage T4 DNA Polymerase,” Science 249:505-510 (1990).
Ushida et al., “GaAs Nanocrystals Prepared in Quinoline,” IJ. Phys. Chem., 95, 5382-5384 (1992).
Wang et al., “Nanometer-Sized Semiconductor Clusters: Materials Synthesis, Quantum Size Effects, and Photophysical Properties,” J. Phys. Chem., 95:525-532 (1991).
Weller, “Colloidal Semiconductor Q-Particles: Chemistry in the Transition Region Between Solid State and Molecules,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 32:41-53 (1993).
Yamane et al., “On the complexing of desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by mercuric ion,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 83:2599-2607 (1961).
Yan et al., “Aptamers and aptamer targeted delivery,” RNA Biol. 6(3) 316-320 (2009).
Zamai et al., “Camptothecin Poly[N-(2-Hydroxypropyl) Methacrylamide] Copolymers in Antitopoisomerase-I Tumor Therapy: Intrtumor Release and Antitumor Efficacy,” Mol Cancer Ther 2: 29-40 (2003).
Zhang et al., “A general approach to DNA-programmable atom equivalents,” Nat Mater 12(8): 741-746 (2013).
Zhang et al., “An extremely stable and orthogonal DNA base pair with a simplified three-carbon backbone,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127:74-75 (2005).
Zheng et al., “Topical delivery of siRNA-based spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates for gene regulation,” Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 109: 11975-11980 (2012).
Zimmermann, et al., “A Novel Silver(I)-Mediated DNA Base Pair,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124:13684-13685 (2002).
[No Author Listed] KeraFAST Chemoselective ligation through copper-free click chemistry. Sep. 21, 2012. published online via http://www.kerafast.com/PDF/Chemoselective_Ligation_Sheet.pdf 2 pages.
[No Author] IDT Integrated DNA Technologies also describes in their company website A-class, B-class and C-class CpG oligonucleotides.
Agbasi-Porter et al., Transcription inhibition using oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticles, Bioconjugate Chem., 17(5):1178-83 (2006).
Akhter et al., Gold nanoparticles in theranostic oncology: current state-of-the-art. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. Oct. 2012;9(10):1225-43. Epub Aug. 16, 2012.
Alemdaroglu et al., DNA Block Copolymer Micelles—A Combinatorial Tool for Cancer Nanotechnology. Advanced Materials. Mar. 2008;20(5)899-902. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200700866l.
Asthana et al., Mannosylated chitosan nanoparticles for delivery of antisense oligonucleotides for macrophage targeting. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:526391. doi: 10.1155/2014/526391. Epub Jun. 26, 2014.
Bae et al., Targeted drug delivery to tumors: myths, reality and possibility. J Control Release. Aug. 10, 2011;153(3):198-205. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.06.001. Epub Jun. 6, 2011.
Banga et al., Liposomal spherical nucleic acids. J Am Chem Soc. Jul. 16, 2014; 136(28):9866-9. doi: 10.1021/ja504845f. Epub Jul. 1, 2014.
Bhattarai et al., “Enhanced Gene and siRNA Delivery by Polycation-Modified Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Chloroquine,” Pharm. Res., 2010, 27, 2556-2568.
Bonoiu et al., Nanotechnology approach for drug addiction therapy: gene ; silencing using delivery of gold nanorod-siRNA nanoplex in dopaminergic neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. Apr. 7, 2009;106(14):5546-50. doi:; 10.1073/pnas.0901715106. Epub Mar. 23, 2009.
Briley et al., In Nanomaterials for Biomedicine; American Chemical Society. 2012;1119:1-20.
Bunge et al., Lipophilic oligonucleotides spontaneously insert into lipid membranes, bind complementary DNA strands, and sequester into lipid-disordered domains. Langmuir. Apr. 10, 2007;23(8):4455-64. Epub Mar. 17, 2007.
Burgess, Liposome preparation—Avanti® Polar Lipids. Sigma-Aldrich. 1998. 3 pages.
Cao et al., Reversible Cell-Specific Drug Delivery with Aptamer-Functionalized Liposomes, Anqew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009;48:6494-8.
Chen et al., Nanoparticle-aptamer: an effective growth inhibitor for human cancer cells. IMECE 2009-11966. Jul. 8, 2010;271-2. https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2009-11966. 2 pgs.
Chinen et al., Spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates enhance G-quadruplex formation and increase serum protein interactions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. Jan. 7, 2015;54(2):527-31. doi: 10.1002/anie.201409211. Epub Nov. 13, 2014.
Chinese Office Action dated Oct. 28, 2019 in connection with CN 201580073536.9.
Chinnathambi et al., Binding mode of CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides to nanoparticles regulates bifurcated cytokine induction via Toll-like Receptor 9. Sci Reports. 2012;2(534):1-9.
Cho et al., Targeted delivery of siRNA-generating DNA nanocassettes using multifunctional nanoparticles. Small. Jun. 10, 2013;9(11):1964-73. doi: 10.1002/smll.201201973. Epub Jan. 6, 2013.
Cho et al., Therapeutic nanoparticles for drug delivery in cancer. Clin Cancer Res. Mar. 1, 2008;14(5):1310-6. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-07-1441.
Choi et al., DNA aptamer-passivated nanocrystal synthesis: a facile approach for nanoparticle-based cancer cell growth inhibition. Small. Mar. 2009;5(6):672-5. doi: 10.1002/smll.200801821.
Cutler et al., Polyvalent nucleic acid nanostructures. J Am Chem Soc. Jun. 22, 2011;133(24):9254-7. doi:10.1021/ja203375n. Epub Jun. 1, 2011.
Cutler et al., Polyvalent oligonucleotide iron oxide nanoparticle “click” conjugates. Nano Lett. Apr. 14, 2010;10(4):1477-80. doi: 10.1021/n1100477m.
Dave et al., Programmable assembly of DNA-functionalized liposomes by DNA. ACS Nano. Feb. 22, 2011;5(2):1304-12. doi: 10.1021/nn1030093. Epub Jan. 4, 2011.
Diebold et al., Nucleic acid agonists for Toll-like receptor 7 are defined by the presence of uridine ribonucleotides. Eur J Immunol. Dec. 2006;36(12):3256-67.
Dikmen et al., Targeting critical steps of cancer metastasis and recurrence using telomerase template antagonists. Biochim Biophys Acta. Apr. 2009;1792(4):240-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2009.01.018. Epub Feb. 9, 2009.
Dua et al., Liposome: Methods of Preparation and Applications. IJPSR (2012) 3(2):14-20.
Elbakry et al., Layer-by-Layer Assembled Gold Nanoparticles for siRNA Delivery, Nano Lett., 2009, 9 (5), 2059-2064.
Eltoukhy et al., Nucleic acid-mediated intracellular protein delivery by lipid-like nanoparticles. Biomaterials. Aug. 2014;35(24):6454-61. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.04.014. Epub May 13, 2014.
Extended European Search Report dated Jun. 28, 2018 in connection with EP 15860671.5.
Farokhzad et al., Nanomedicine: developing smarter therapeutic and diagnostic modalities, Drug Delivery Rev., 58:1456 (2006).
Ferrari, Cancer nanotechnology: opportunities and challenges. Nature Reviews Cancer. 2005;5: 161-71.
Forman et al., Toward Artificial Ion Channels: A Lipophilic G-Quadruplex. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000;122(17):4060-4067. DOI: 10.1021/ja9925148.
Forsbach et al., Identification of RNA sequence motifs stimulating sequence-specific TLR8-dependent immune responses. J Immunol. Mar. 15, 2008;180(6):3729-38.
Giljohann et al., Gold nanoparticles for biology and medicine. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. Apr. 26, 2010;49(19):3280-94. doi: 10.1002/anie.200904359.
Giljohann et al., Oligonucleotide loading determines cellular uptake of DNA-modified gold nanoparticles. Nano Lett. Dec. 2007;7(12):3818-21. Epub Nov. 13, 2007.
Godard et al., Antisense Effects of Cholesterol-Oligodeoxynucleotide Conjugates Associated with Poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) Nanoparticles. Eur. J. Biochem., 1995, 232 (2), 404-410.
Grijalvo et al., Oligonucleotide delivery: a patent review (2010-2013). Expert Opin Ther Pat. Jul. 2014;24(7):801-19. doi:10.1517/13543776.2014.915944. Epub May 5, 2014.
Gryaznov, Oligonucleotide n3′→p5′ phosphoramidates and thio-phoshoramidates as potential therapeutic agents. Chem Biodivers. Mar. 2010;7(3):477-93. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.200900187. Review.
Gunnarsson et al., Liposome-Based Chemical barcodes for Single Molecule DNA Detection Using Imaging Mass Spectrometry, Nano. Lett. 2010;10:732-37.
Gursel et al., Repetitive elements in mammalian telomeres suppress bacterial DNA-induced immune activation. J Immunol. Aug. 1, 2003;171(3):1393-400.
Han et al., Drug and gene delivery using gold nanoparticles. NanoBiotechnology. Mar. 2007;3(1):40-5.
Han et al., Selective Interactions of Cationic Porphyrins with G-Quadruplex; Structures. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 8902-8913 (Year: 2001).
Heil et al., Species-specific recognition of single-stranded RNA via toll-like receptor 7 and 8. Science. Mar. 5, 2004;303(5663): 1526-9. Epub Feb. 19, 2004.
Hellstrom et al., Epitaxial growth of DNA-assembled nanoparticle superlattices on patterned substrates. Nano Lett. 2013;13(12):6084-90. doi: 10.1021/n14033654. Epub Nov. 20, 2013.
Hope et al., Production of large unilamellar vesicles by a rapid extrusion procedure: characterization of size distribution, trapped volume and ability to maintain a membrane potential. Biochim Biophys Acta. Jan. 10, 1985;812(1):55-65.
Hotz et al., VEGF antisense therapy inhibits tumor growth and improves survival in experimental pancreatic cancer. Surgery. Feb. 2005;137(2):192-9.
Hurst et al., Maximizing DNA Loading on a Range of Gold Nanoparticle Sizes. Anal. Chem., 2006, 78 (24), 8313-8318.
Jahn et al., Microfluidic directed formation of liposomes of controlled size. Langmuir. May 22, 2007;23(11):6289-93. Epub Apr. 24, 2007.
Jakobsen et al., Assembly of liposomes controlled by triple helix formation, Bioconjugate Chem. 2013;24:1485-95.
Jayawickramarajah et al., Allosteric control of self-assembly: modulating the formation of guanine quadruplexes through orthogonal aromatic interactions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2007;46(40):7583-6.
Jensen et al., Spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates as an RNAi-based therapy for glioblastoma, Sci. Trans. Med., 5:209ra152 (2013).
Kachura et al., A CpG-Ficoll Nanoparticle Adjuvant for Anthrax Protective Antigen Enhances Immunogenicity and Provides Single-Immunization Protection against Inhaled Anthrax in Monkeys. J Immunol. Jan. 1, 2016;196(1):284-97. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1501903. Epub Nov. 25, 2015.
Kandimalla et al., Conjugation of Ligands at the 5′-End of CpG DNA Affects Immunostimulatory Activity. Bioconjugate Chemistry 2002 13 (5), 966-974. DOI: 10.1021/bc0200374.
Kerkmann et al., Immunostimulatory properties of CpG-oligonucleotides are enhanced by the use of protamine nanoparticles. Oligonucleotides. 2006 Winter;16(4):313-22.
Kim et al., Effect of bovine serum albumin on the stability of methotrexate-encapsulated liposomes, Arch. Pharmacal Res. 1991;14:336.
Kim et al., Systemic and Specific Delivery of Small Interfering RNAs to the Liver Mediated by Apolipoprotein A-I. Mol. Ther., 2007, 15 (6), 1145-1152.
Kong et al., Cationic lipid-coated gold nanoparticles as efficient and non-cytotoxic intracellular siRNA delivery vehicles. Pharm Res. Feb. 2012;29(2):362-74. doi: 10.1007/s11095-011-0554-y. Epub Aug. 13, 2011.
Krieg. Antiinfective applications of toll-like receptor 9 agonists. Proc Am Thorac Soc. Jul. 2007;4(3):289-94.
Krug et al. Identification of CpG oligonucleotide sequences with high induction of IFN-alpha/beta in plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Eur J Immunol. Jul. 2001;31(7):2154-63.
Langer, New methods of drug delivery. Science. Sep. 28, 1990;249(4976):1527-33.
Laouini et al., iPreparation, Characterization and Applications of Liposomes: State of the Art. J Colloid Sci and Biotechnol. 2012;1:147-68.
Leander, Mixed-Monolayer Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapeutics. Nanoscape, 2010, 7(1), 11-14.
Lee et al., All-in-one target-cell-specific magnetic nanoparticles for simultaneous molecular imaging and siRNA delivery. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2009;48(23):4174-9. doi:10.1002/anie.200805998.
Lee et al., Silver nanoparticle-oligonucleotide conjugates based on DNA with triple cyclic disulfide moieties, Nano Lett., 7: 2112 (2007).
Lennox et al., Characterization of modified antisense oligonucleotides in Xenopus laevis embryos. Oligonucleotides. 2006 Spring;16(1):26-42.
Lesieur et al., Size analysis and stability study of lipid vesicles by high-performance gel exclusion chromatography, turbidity, and dynamic light scattering. Anal Biochem. Feb. 1, 1991;192(2):334-43. (Abstract Only).
Li et al., Combination delivery of antigens and CpG by lanthanides-based core-shell nanoparticles for enhanced immune response and dual-mode imaging. Adv Healthc Mater. Oct. 2013;2(10):1309-13. doi:10.1002/adhm.201200364. Epub Mar. 25, 2013.
Li et al., Nanofabrication by DNA self-assembly. Materials Today. Elsevier Science. May 1, 2009;12(5)24-32.
Li et al., Nucleolin-targeting liposomes guided by aptamer AS1411 for the delivery of siRNA for the treatment of malignant melanomas. Biomaterials. Apr. 2014;35(12):3840-50. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.01.019. Epub Jan. 31, 2014.
Li et al., Reversible and Chemically Programmable Micelle Assembly with DNA Block-Copolymer Amphiphiles, Nano Lett. 2004;4:1055.
Li et al., Thermal stability of DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles, Bioconjugate Chem., 24:1790-7 (2013).
Lin et al., Gold nanoparticle delivery of modified CpG stimulates macrophages and inhibits tumor growth for enhanced immunotherapy. PLoS One. May 15, 2013;8(5):e63550. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063550. Print 2013.
Liu et al., Membrane anchored immunostimulatory oligonucleotides for in vivo cell modification and localized immunotherapy. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. Jul. 25, 2011;50(31):7052-5. doi: 10.1002/anie.201101266. Epub Jun. 17, 2011.
Liu et al., Structure-based programming of lymph-node targeting in molecular vaccines. Nature. Mar. 27, 2014;507(7493):519-22. doi: 10.1038/nature12978.
Liu et al., Silica Nanoparticle Supported Lipid Bilayers for Gene Delivery, Chem. Commun., 2009, 5100-5102.
Ljubimova et al., Nanoconjugate based on polymalic acid for tumor targeting.; Chem Biol Interact. Jan. 30, 2008;171(2):195-203. Epub Feb. 8, 2007.
Lohcharoenkal et al., Protein Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Carriers for Cancer Therapy. BioMed Research International. 2014; Article ID 180549. 12 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/180549.
Luthi et al., Nanotechnology for synthetic high-density lipoproteins. Trens Mol Med. Dec. 2010;16(12):553-60. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2010.10.006. Epub Nov. 17, 2010.
Lytton-Jean et al., Highly Cooperative Behavior of Peptide Nucleic Acid-Linked DNA-Modified Gold-Nanoparticle and Comb-Polymer Aggregates, Advanced Materials, 21: 706 (2009).
Major et al., Characterisation and Phase Behaviour of Phospholipid Bilayers Adsorbed on Spherical Polysaccharidic Nanoparticles. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1997, 1327, 32-40.
Mangsbo et al., Enhanced tumor eradication by combining CTLA-4 or PD-1 blockade with CpG therapy. J Immunother. Apr. 2010;33(3):225-35. doi: 10.1097/CJI.0b013e3181c01fcb.
Marshall et al., Novel chimeric immunomodulatory compounds containing short CpG oligodeoxyribonucleotides have differential activities in human cells. Nucleic Acids Res. Sep. 1, 2003;31(17):5122-33.
Martin et al., Ein neur Zugang zu 2′-O-alkyhibonucleosiden and Eigenschaften deren oligonucleotide Hely, Chim. Acta, 78:486-504 (1995).
Martinson et al., Impact of class A, B and C CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides on in vitro activation of innate immune cells in human immunodeficiency virus-1 infected individuals. Immunology. (2007) 120(4):526-35.
Massich et al., Regulating immune response using polyvalent nucleic acid-gold nanoparticle conjugates. Mol Pharm. Nov.-Dec. 2009;6(6):1934-40.
Matsunaga et al., Biomagnetic Nanoparticle Formation and Application. Supramolecular Science, 1998, 5 (3-4), 391-394.
Mcallister et al., Polymeric nanogels produced via inverse microemulsion polymerization as potential gene and antisense delivery agents, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124:15198 (2002).
Mcbain et al., Polyethyleneimine Functionalized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Agents for DNA Deliver and Transfection. J. Mater. Chem., 2007, 17, 2561-2565.
Medintz et al., A reactive peptidic linker for self-assembling hybrid quantum dot-DNA bioconjugates. Nano Lett. Jun. 2007;7(6):1741-8. Epub May 26, 2007.
Mehta et al., Topical and transdermal delivery: What a pharmacist needs to know. InetCE. Jul. 2004:1-10.
Ming et al., Albumin-based nanoconjugates for targeted delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides. Biomaterials. Oct. 2013;34(32):7939-49. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.06.066. Epub Jul. 19, 2013.
Mirkin et al., A DNA-based method for rationally assembling nanoparticles into macroscopic materials, Nature, 382:607-9 (1996).
Mui et al., Immune stimulation by a CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotide is enhanced when encapsulated and delivered in lipid particles. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. Sep. 2001;298(3):1185-92.
Munde et al., Induced fit conformational changes of a “reversed amidine” heterocycle: optimized interactions in a DNA minor groove complex. J Am Chem Soc. May 2, 2007;129(17):5688-98. Epub Apr. 11, 2007.
Pan et al., Dendrimer-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles Enhance Efficiency of Gene Delivery System. Cancer Res. 2007;67:8156-8163.
Patil et al., Evidence for Novel Interdigitated Bilayer Formation of Fatty Acids During Three-Dimensional Self-Assembly on Silver Colloidal Particles. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1997, 119 (39), 9281-9282.
Paul, New Way to Kill Lymphoma without Chemotherapy uses Golden Nanoparticles. Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University. Jan. 22, 2013. 4 pages. ww.feinberg.northwestern.edu/news/2013/01/lymphoma_nanoparticales.html.
Pearson et al., Polynucleotide Binding to Macrophage Scavenger Receptors Depends on the Formation of Base-quartet-stabilized Four-stranded Helices. JBC, VOi. 268, No. 5, Issue of Feb. 15. pp. 3546-3554, 1993 (Year: 1993).
Peter et al., Characterization of suppressive oligodeoxynucleotides that inhibit Toll-like receptor-9-mediated activation of innate immunity. Immunology. Jan. 2008;123(1):118-28. Epub Oct. 23, 2007.
Pfeiffer et al., Bivalent Cholesterol-Based Coupling of Oligonucleotides to Lipid Membrane Assemblies. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004;126:10224-10225.
Pfeiffer et al., Quantification of oligonucleotide modifications of small unilamellar lipid vesicles. Anal. Chem. 2006;78:7493-8.
Phan, Human telomeric G-quadruplex: structures of DNA and RNA sequences. FEBS J. Mar. 2010;277(5):1107-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07464.x. Epub; Nov. 27, 2009.
Plant et al., Self-assembled phospholipid/alkanethiol biomimetic bilayers on gold. Langmuir. 1993;9:2764-7.
Platt al., Role for the class A macrophage scavenger receptor in the phagocytosis of apoptotic thymocytes in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Oct. 29, 1996;93(22):12456-60.
Radovic-Moreno et al., Immunomodulatory spherical nucleic acids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Mar. 31, 2015;112(13):3892-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1502850112. Epub Mar. 16, 2015.
Ramos-Casals et al., Autoimmune diseases induced by TNF-targeted therapies: analysis of 233 cases. Medicine (Baltimore). Jul. 2007;86(4):242-51.
Rana et al., Monolayer coated gold nanoparticles for delivery applications. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. Feb. 2012;64(2):200-16. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2011.08.006. Epub Sep. 6, 2011.
Romanucci et al., Synthesis, biophysical characterization and anti-HIV activity of d(TG3AG) Quadruplexes bearing hydrophobic tails at the 5′-end. Bioorg Med Chem. Feb. 1, 2014;22(3):960-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2013.12.051. Epub Jan. 4, 2014.
Rosenzweig et al., Self-assembly of a four-helix bundle on a DNA quadruplex. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2009;48(15):2749-51. doi:10.1002/anie.200804849.
Rosi et al., Oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticles for intracellular gene regulation. Science. May 19, 2006;312(5776):1027-30.
Schieren et al., Comparison of large unilamellar vesicles prepared by a petroleum ether vaporization method with multilamellar vesicles: ESR, diffusion and entrapment analyses. Biochim Biophys Acta. Aug. 3, 1978;542(1):137-53.
Schwab et al., An approach for new anticancer drugs: Oncogene-targered antisense DNA. Ann Oncol. 1994;5(Suppl4):S55-8.
Sen et al., Formation of parallel four-stranded complexes by guanine-rich motifs in DNA and its implications; for meiosis. Nature, 1988, 334:364-366.
Senior et al., Stability of small unilamellar liposomes in serum and clearance from the circulation: the effect of the phospholipid and cholesterol components, Life Sci. 30:2123 (1982).
Shahzad et al., Targeted delivery of small interfering RNA using reconstituted high-density lipoprotein nanoparticles. Neoplasia. Apr. 2011;13(4):309-19.
Shukla et al., Development of streptavidin-based ; nanocomplex for siRNA delivery. Mol Pharm. Dec. 2, 2013;10(12):4534-45. doi:; 10.1021/mp400355q. Epub Oct. 25, 2013.
Shukoor et al., CpG-DNA loaded multifunctional MnO nanoshuttles for TLR9-specific cellular cargo delivery, selective immune-activation and MRI. J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 8826-8834.
Sokolova et al., The use of calcium phosphate nanoparticles encapsulating Toll-like receptor ligands and the antigen hemagglutinin to induce dendritic cell maturation and T cell activation. Biomaterials. Jul. 2010;31(21):5627-33. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.03.067.Epub Apr. 24, 2010.
Sood, ‘Good cholesterol’ nanoparticles seek and destroy cancer cells. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 2011. Downloaded Apr. 4, 2011. http://healthorbit.ca/newsdetail.asp?opt=1&nltid=164032911.
Stengel et al., Determinants for Membrane Fusion Induced by Cholesterol-Modified DNA Zippers, J. Phys. Chem. B., 112:8264-74 (2008).
Sulkowski et al., The influence of temperature, cholesterol content and pH on liposome stability, J. Mol. Struct., 744-747: 737 (2005).
Tiwari et al., Functionalized gold nanoparticles and their biomedical applications. Nanomaterials. 2011;1:31-63. doi: 10.3390/nano1010031.
Toh et al. Liposomes as sterile preparations and limitations of sterilisation techniques in liposomal manufacturing, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2013) 8(2):88-95.
Tripathy et al., High Density Lipoprotein Nanoparticles Deliver RNAi to Endothelial Cells to Inhibit Angiogenesis. Part Part Syst Charact. Nov. 1, 2014;31(11):1141-1150.
Versluis et al., In situ modification of plain liposomes with lipidated coiled coil forming peptides induces membrane fusion, J. Am. Chem. Soc.. 135:8057 (2013).
Vorobjev et al., Nuclease resistance and RNase H sensitivity of oligonucleotides bridged by oligomethylenediol and oligoethylene glycol linkers. Antisense Nucleic Acid Drug Dev. Apr. 2001;11(2):77-85.
Wang et al., Simplified Textbook on Molecular Biology. Jul. 31, 2008:p. 15.
Wei et al., Polyvalent immunostimulatory nanoagents with self-assembled CpG oligonucleotide-conjugated gold nanoparticles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. Jan. 27, 2012;51(5):1202-6. doi:10.1002/anie.201105187. Epub Dec. 21, 2011.
Whitehead et al., Knocking down barriers: advances in siRNA delivery, Nat. Rev. Drug. Discov., 8:129 (2009).
Willis et al., Liposome-Anchored Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Aptamers, Biocon. Chem., 9:573-82 (1998).
Wilson et al., pH-Responsive nanoparticle vaccines for dual-delivery of antigens and immunostimulatory oligonucleotides. ACS Nano. May 28, 2013;7(5):3912-25. doi: 10.1021/nn305466z. Epub Apr. 30, 2013.
Wilton et al. Antisense oligonucleotide-induced exon skipping across the human dystrophin gene transcript. Mol Ther. Jul. 2007;15(7):1288-96. Epub Feb. 6, 2007.
Wolfe et al., Modulation of Tetraplex Formation by Chemical Modifications of a G4-Containing Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotide. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 6301-6302 (Year: 1996).
Wolfrum et al., Mechanisms and optimization of in vivo delivery of lipophilic siRNAs. Nat Biotechnol. Oct. 2007;25(10):1149-57. Epub Sep. 16, 2007.
Wu et al., DNA aptamer-micelle as an efficient detection/delivery vehicle toward cancer cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Jan. 5, 2010;107(1):5-10. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909611107. Epub Dec. 22, 2009.
Xiao et al., Mannosylated bioreducible nanoparticle-mediated macrophage-specific TNF-RNA interference for IBD therapy. Biomaterials. Oct. 2013;34(30):7471-82. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.06.008. Epub Jun. 29, 2013.
Xing et al., Selective delivery of an anticancer drug with aptamer-functionalized liposomes to breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, J. Mater. Chem. B., 1:5288 (2013).
Yang et al., Experimental technologies of biochemistry and molecular biology. Higher Ed Press of China. Jun. 30, 2008. p. 168.
Yang et al., Inhibition of a C-rich oligodeoxynucleotide on activation of immune cells in vitro and enhancement of antibody response in mice. Immunology. Dec. 2010;131(4):501-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2010.03322.x.
Yin et al., Supramolecular self-assembled nanoparticles mediate oral delivery of therapeutic TNF-siRNA against systemic inflammation. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. May 27, 2013;52(22):5757-61. doi: 10.1002/anie.201209991. Epub Apr. 22, 2013.
Young et al., Hollow spherical nucleic acids for intracellular gene regulation based upon biocompatible silica shells, Nano Lett., 12:3867 (2012).
Zhang et al., A general approach to DNA-programmable atom equivalents. Nat Mater. Aug. 2013;12(8):741-6. doi: 10.1038/nmat3647. Epub May 19, 2013.
Zhang et al., Antibody-linked spherical nucleic acids for cellular targeting, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 134:16488-91 (2012).
Zhang et al., Nanopod formation through gold nanoparticle templated and catalyzed crosslinking of polymers bearing pendant propargyl ethers. J Am Chem Soc. Nov. 3, 2010;132(43):15151-3.
Zhang et al., TLR9-mediated siRNA delivery for targeting of normal and malignant human hematopoietic cells in vivo. Blood. Feb. 21, 2013;121(8):1304-15. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-07-442590. Epub Jan. 3, 2013.
Zhang et al., Structure-activity relationships of cationic shell-crosslinked knedel-like nanoparticles: shell composition and transfection efficiency/cytotoxicity, Biomaterials, 31:1805 (2010).
Zheng et al., Sterically controlled docking of gold nanoparticles on ferritin; surface by DNA hybridization. Nanotechnology. Jul. 8, 2011;22(27):275312. doi:; 10.1088/0957-4484/22/27/275312. Epub May 26, 2011.
Zheng et al., Topical delivery of siRNA-based spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates for gene regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Jul. 24, 2012;109(30):11975-80. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1118425109. Epub Jul. 6, 2012.
[No Author Listed] Introducing Antisense Oligonucleotides into Cells, Innovation & Precision in Nucleic Acid Synthesis, Integrated DNA Technologies. 2005.pp. 1-7.
Auyeung et al., Synthetically programmable nanoparticle superlattices using a hollow threedimensional spacer approach. Nat Nanotechnol 7(1 ):24-28 (2012).
Calabrese et al., Biocompatible infinite-coordination-polymer nanoparticle-nucleic-acid conjugates for antisense gene regulation. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. Jan. 7, 2015;54(2):476-480. Doi: 10.1002/anie.201407946. Epub Nov. 13, 2014.
Combadiere et al., Particle-based vaccines for transcutaneous vaccination. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. Mar. 2008;31(2-3):293-315. Epub Oct. 30, 2007. Review.
Cui et al., Topical immunization using nanoengineered genetic vaccines. J Control Release. May 17, 2002;81(1-2):173-84.
Debouttiere et al., Design of Gold Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Adv Funct Mater. Dec. 2006;16(18): 2330-9.
Deering et al., Nucleic acid vaccines: prospects for non-viral delivery of mRNA vaccines. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. Jun. 2014;11(6):885-99. Doi: 10.1517/17425247.2014.901308. Epub Mar. 26, 2014. Review.
Eckstein, Oligonucleotides and Analogues, 1st Ed. (Oxford University Press, New York) (1991). Table of contents, pp. ix-xvii.
Hames et al. (eds.) Genes Probes. New York. IRL Press. 1995. Table of Contents, pp: ix-xiv.
Hayat (ed). Colloidal Gold. Principles, Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego. 1989. vol. 1. Table of Contents, pp. v.-xvii.
Hayat (ed). Colloidal Gold. Principles, Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego. 1989. vol. 2. Table of Contents, pp. v.-xix.
Hayat (ed). Colloidal Gold. Principles, Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego. 1991. vol. 3. Table of Contents, pp. v.-xiv.
Hill et al., “Controlling the Lattice Parameters of Gold Nanoparticle FCC Crystals with Duplex DNA Linkers,” Nano Lett 8(8): 2341-2344 (2008).
Li et al., A Calcium-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent. JACS. 1999;121(6):1413-4.
Luo et al., Synthetic DNA delivery systems. Nat Biotechnol. Jan. 2000;18(1):33-7.
Mayer (ed)., Nucleic Acid and Peptide Aptamers: Methods and Protocols (Humana Press, 2009). Entire book. Table of Contents, pp. 1-406.
Modo et al., (eds)., Molecular and Cellular MR Imaging. Florida: CRC Press (2007). Table of Contents, pp. 1-4.
Opalinska et al., Nucleic-acid therapeutics: basic principles and recent applications. Nat Rev Drug Discov. Jul. 2002;1(7):503-14.
Patil et al., Temozolomide delivery to tumor cells by a multifunctional nano vehicle based on poly(β-L-malic acid). Pharm Res. Nov. 2010;27(11):2317-29. Doi: 10.1007/s11095-010-0091-0. Epub Apr. 13, 2010.
Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed. 1999. Table of Contents, pp. v-xxxii.
Schmid (ed), Clusters and Colloids (VCH Weinham, 1994). Table of Contents, pp. v-xi.
Seeman, An Overview of Structural DNA Nanotechnology. Mol Biotechnol 37(3): 246-257 (2007).
Watson et al., (Eds). Molecular Biology of the Gene, 4th Ed. The Benjamin Cummins Publishing Company, Inc. 1987. Table of Contents, x-xxix.
Wu et al., Intracellular fate of spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates. J Am Chem Soc. May 28, 2014;136(21):7726-33. doi: 10.1021/ja503010a. Epub May 19, 2014.
Zhang et al., “A general strategy for the DNA-mediated self-assembly of functional nanoparticles into heterogeneous systems,” Nat Nanotechnol 8(11): 865-872 (2013).
U.S. Appl. No. 15/502,955, filed Feb. 9, 2017, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 16/611,502, filed Nov. 7, 2019, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 16/611,548, filed Nov. 7, 2019, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 16/160,196, filed Oct. 15, 2018, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 16/328,025, filed Feb. 25, 2019, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 16/242,704, filed Jan. 8, 2019, Mirkin et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 17/011,658, filed Sep. 3, 2020, Mirkin et al.
[No Author Listed], Modern Pharmaceutical Design. 2006. Chapter 5. p. 273. Summary. 2 pages.
Berton et al., Highly loaded nanoparticulate carrier using an hydrophobic antisense oligonucleotide complex. Eur. J. Pharma. Sci. 1999;9:163-70.
Chung et al., Nuclease-resistant DNA aptamer on gold nanoparticles for the simultaneous detection of Pb2+ and Hg2+ in human serum, Biosens. Bioelectron. 41 :827-32 (2013).
Cui et al., Exploration of the Structure and Recognition of a G-quadruplex in the her2 Proto-oncogene Promoter and Its Transcriptional Regulation. Sci Rep. Mar. 8, 2019;9(1):3966. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39941-5.
Demesmaeker et al., Antisense oligonucleotides. Acc. Chem. Res. 1995;28(9): 366-74.
Holen et al., Positional effects of short interfering RNAs targeting the human coagulation trigger tissue factor. Nucl. Acids Res. 2002;30: 1757-66.
Hong et al., Directed Assembly of Nucleic Acid-Based Polymeric Nanoparticles from Molecular Tetravalent Cores, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137:8184-91 (2015).
Hsu et al., Delivery of siRNA and other macromolecules into skin and cells using a peptide enhancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011;108(38):15816-15821. doi:10.1073/pnas.1016152108.
Jeong et al., Novel intracellular delivery system of antisense oligonucleotide by self-assembled hybrid micelles composed of DNA/PEG conjugate and cationic fusogenic peptide. Bioconjugate Chem. 2003;14: 473-9.
Liu et al., New poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s induce DNA nanoparticle formation and efficient gene delivery into mammalian cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004;126: 7422-3.
Miller et al., Antisense oligonucleotides: Strategies for delivery. PSTT. 1998;1(9): 377-86.
Mucic et al., Synthesis and characterization of DNA with ferrocenyl groups attached to their 5′- termini: electrochemical characterization of a redox-active nucleotide monolayer. Chem. Comm. 1996;555-7.
Ogloblina et al., Parallel G-Quadruplexes Formed by Guanine-Rich Microsatellite Repeats Inhibit Human Topoisomerase I. Biochemistry (Mosc). Aug. 2015;80(8):1026-38. doi: 10.1134/S0006297915080088.
Patil et al., DNA-based therapeutics and DNA delivery systems: a comprehensive review. AAPS J., 2005;7(1): E61-77.
Rajur et al., Covalent protein-oligonucleotide conjugates for efficient delivery of antisense molecules. Bioconjug Chem. Nov.-Dec. 1997;8(6):935-40. doi: 10.1021/bc970172u.
Sun et al., Multidimensional sensor for pattern recognition of proteins based on DNA-gold nanoparticles conjugates, Anal. Chem. Mar. 17, 2015;87(6):3354-9.
Wei et al., A study of the relationships between oligonucleotide properties and hybridization signal intensities from NimbleGen microarray datasets. Nucl. Acids Res., 2008;36: 2926-38.
Wolfe et al., RNA G-quadruplexes cause eIF4A-dependent oncogene translation in cancer. Nature. Sep. 4, 2014;513(7516):65-70. doi: 10.1038/nature13485. Epub Jul. 27, 2014.
Related Publications (1)
Number Date Country
20180344873 A1 Dec 2018 US
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
62083092 Nov 2014 US