A Lipid-Coated Nanoconstruct Composed of Gold Nanoparticles Noncovalently Coated with Small Interfering RNA: Preparation, Purification and Characterization

Abstract

There is an urgent need to develop systems for nucleic acid delivery, especially for the creation of effective therapeutics against various diseases. We have previously shown the feasibility of efficient delivery of small interfering RNA by means of gold nanoparticle-based multilayer nanoconstructs (MLNCs) for suppressing reporter protein synthesis. The present work is aimed at improving the quality of preparations of desired MLNCs, and for this purpose, optimal conditions for their multistep fabrication were found. All steps of this process and MLNC purification were verified using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Factors influencing the efficiency of nanocomposite assembly, colloidal stability, and purification quality were identified. These data made it possible to optimize the fabrication of target MLNCs bearing small interfering RNA and to substantially improve end product quality via an increase in its homogeneity and a decrease in the amount of incomplete nanoconstructs. We believe that the proposed approaches and methods will be useful for researchers working with lipid nanoconstructs.