title: A method to encapsulate molecular cargo within DNA icosahedra.
abstract: DNA self-assembly has yielded various polyhedra based on platonic solids. DNA polyhedra can act as nanocapsules by entrapping various molecular entities from solution and could possibly find use in targeted delivery within living systems. A key requirement for encapsulation is that the polyhedron should have maximal encapsulation volume while maintaining minimum pore size. It is well known that platonic solids possess maximal encapsulation volumes. We therefore constructed an icosahedron from DNA using a modular self-assembly strategy. We describe a method to determine the functionality of DNA polyhedra as nanocapsules by encapsulating different cargo such as gold nanoparticles and functional biomolecules like FITC dextran from solution within DNA icosahedra.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: Saikat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: Shabana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehtab
authors.forename: Yamuna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Krishnan
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004247:DNA