Condensation of oligonucleotides assembled into nicked and gapped duplexes: potential structures for oligonucleotide delivery.

ABSTRACT: The condensation of nucleic acids into well-defined particles is an integral part of several approaches to artificial cellular delivery. Improvements in the efficiency of nucleic acid delivery in vivo are important for the development of DNA- and RNA-based therapeutics. Presently, most efforts to improve the condensation and delivery of nucleic acids have focused on the synthesis of novel condensing agents. However, short oligonucleotides are not as easy to condense into well-defined particles as gene-length DNA polymers and present particular challenges for discrete particle formation. We describe a novel strategy for improving the condensation and packaging of oligonucleotides that is based on the self-organization of half-sliding complementary oligonucleotides into long duplexes (ca. 2

SUBMITTER: Sarkar T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC546144 | biostudies-literature | 2005

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature