title: Effective gene silencing by multilayered siRNA-coated gold nanoparticles.
abstract: Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been widely proposed to treat various diseases by silencing genes, but its delivery remains a challenge. A well controlled assembly approach is applied to prepare a protease-assisted nanodelivery system. Protease-degradable poly-L-lysine (PLL) and siRNA are fabricated onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), by alternating the charged polyelectrolytes. In this study, up to 4 layers of PLL and 3 layers of siRNA (sR3P) are coated. Due to the slow degradation of PLL, the incorporated siRNA is released gradually and shows extended gene-silencing effects. Importantly, the inhibition effect in cells is found to correlate with the number of siRNA layers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, 6565 Fannin St. B5-009, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Seung Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Myung Shin
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Subashini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asokan
authors.forename: Ching-Hsuan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tung
mesh_terms: D020868:Gene Silencing; D006046:Gold; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D011107:Polylysine / Q000737:chemistry; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D011107:Polylysine; D006046:Gold