Nucleic Acid Nanostructures
Project Title: Nucleic Acid Therapeutic Delivery to Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms and Infected Host Cells
Goal:
The focus of the project is to investigate the hypothesis that innovative antimicrobial nucleic acid nanostructures can be effectively delivered to S. aureus biofilms and relevant host cells to control bacterial burden.
Approach:
Our team has discovered that nanoscale silver (nsAg) templated and stabilized on single-stranded DNAs demonstrates potent antimicrobial activity while remaining non-toxic to mammalian cells. We now hypothesize that using programmable Antimicrobial Nucleic acid Nanoassemblies (ANNs) of multiple DNA hairpins templating nsAg (nanoassembled nsAg) will improve the efficacy. Specifically, these nanoassemblies will enhance delivery of antimicrobial silver to the bacteria biofilms and infected mammalian cells, allow for cost-effective production, high batch-to-batch consistency, and storage and handling at ambient temperatures.
