Engineered nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery

DNA based nanostructures and advances in DNA origami techniques have shown great potential in fabrication and of nanostructures and devices. Though a large number of DNA origami structures have been reported [1-3], very few applications of DNA structures have been presented. Custom shapes formed by programmable DNA self assembly can be used to engineer nanoscale devices such as a biological antenna. The focus of our research is to design a nanoscale antenna using DNA biostructure as a scaffold. Conductivity of such a biological antenna can be achieved by using conductive nanoparticles coating on DNA [4] or by attaching conducting polymers to DNA structures[5]. In this paper, we will present design of engineered nano-antennas with well defined engineering characteristics. Engineered nano-antennas have a resonant frequency, that can be used for diagnostic and drug delivery. The ability of such antennas to resonate at a particular frequency will give researchers the ability to communicate and control the nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles are carriers that can be used as advanced detection systems to help identifying toxicity of nanoparticles in the body. Organic molecules, such as folic acid, can be easily bonded to the surface of antenna to detect cancerous cells. We will further discuss detailed DNA origami techniques that can be used to realize such nanostructures.