RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved sequence-specific post-transcriptional gene silencing pathway with wide-ranging applications in functional genomics, therapeutics, and biotechnology. Cationic liposome-small interfering RNA (CL-siRNA) complexes have emerged as vectors of choice for delivery of siRNA, which mediates RNAi. However, siRNA delivery by CL-siRNA complexes is often inefficient and accompanied by lipid toxicity. We report the development of CL-siRNA complexes with a novel cubic phase nanostructure, which exhibit efficient silencing at low toxicity. The inverse bicontinuous gyroid cubic nanostructure was unequivocally derived by synchrotron X-ray scattering, while fluorescence microscopy revealed co-localization of lipid and siRNA in complexes. We attribute the efficient silencing to enhanced fusion of complex and endosomal membranes, facilitated by the cubic phase membrane's positive Gaussian modulus which may enable spontaneous formation of transient pores. The findings underscore the importance of understanding membrane-mediated interactions between CL-siRNA complex nanostructure and cell components in developing CL-based gene silencing vectors.

RNAi technology is currently experiencing a revival due to remarkable improvements in efficacy and viability through oligonucleotide chemical manipulations and/or via their packaging into nanoscale carriers. At present, there is no FDA-approved system for siRNA technology in humans. The design of the next generation of siRNA carriers requires a deep understanding of how a nanoparticle's physicochemical properties truly impart biological stability and efficiency. For example, we now know that nanoparticles need to be sterically stabilized in order to meet adequate biodistribution profiles. At present, targeting, uptake, and, in particular, endosomal escape are among the most critical challenges impairing RNAi technologies. The disruption of endosomes encompasses membrane transformations (for example, pore formation) that cost significant elastic energy. Nanoparticle size and shape have been identified as relevant parameters impacting tissue accumulation and cellular uptake. In this paper, we demonstrate that the internal structure of lipid-based particles offers a different handle to promote endosomal membrane topological disruptions that enhance siRNA delivery. Specifically, we designed sterically stabilized lipid-based particles that differ from traditional liposomal systems by displaying highly ordered bicontinuous cubic internal structures that can be loaded with large amounts of siRNA. This system differs from traditional siRNA-containing liposomes (lipoplexes) as the particle-endosomal membrane interactions are controlled by elasticity energetics and not by electrostatics. The resulting "PEGylated cuboplex" has the ability to deliver siRNA and specifically knockdown genes with efficiencies that surpass those achieved by traditional lipoplex systems.

Cationic liposomes (CLs) are studied worldwide as carriers of DNA and short interfering RNA (siRNA) for gene delivery and gene silencing, and related clinical trials are ongoing. Optimization of transfection efficiency and silencing efficiency by cationic liposome carriers requires a comprehensive understanding of the structures of CL–nucleic acid complexes and the nature of their interactions with cell membranes as well as events leading to release of active nucleic acids within the cytoplasm. Synchrotron x-ray scattering has revealed that CL–nucleic acid complexes spontaneously assemble into distinct liquid crystalline phases including the lamellar, inverse hexagonal, hexagonal, and gyroid cubic phases, and fluorescence microscopy has revealed CL–DNA pathways and interactions with cells. The combining of custom synthesis with characterization techniques and gene expression and silencing assays has begun to unveil structure–function relations in vitro. As a recent example, this review will briefly describe experiments with surface-functionalized PEGylated CL–DNA nanoparticles. The functionalization, which is achieved through custom synthesis, is intended to address and overcome cell targeting and endosomal escape barriers to nucleic acid delivery faced by PEGylated nanoparticles designed for in vivo applications.

On-demand, localized release of drugs in precisely controlled, patient-specific time sequences represents an ideal scenario for pharmacological treatment of various forms of hormone imbalances, malignant cancers, osteoporosis, diabetic conditions and others. We present a wirelessly operated, implantable drug delivery system that offers such capabilities in a form that undergoes complete bioresorption after an engineered functional period, thereby obviating the need for surgical extraction. The device architecture combines thermally actuated lipid membranes embedded with multiple types of drugs, configured in spatial arrays and co-located with individually addressable, wireless elements for Joule heating. The result provides the ability for externally triggered, precision dosage of drugs with high levels of control and negligible unwanted leakage, all without the need for surgical removal. In vitro and in vivo investigations reveal all of the underlying operational and materials aspects, as well as the basic efficacy and biocompatibility of these systems.

We present measurements of isothermal DNA-hexadecyltrimethylammonium (DNACTA) complex and pure DNA hydration at 25°C using a sorption microcalorimeter. This calorimeter provides simultaneous measurement of (i) water activity (sorption isotherms) and (ii) the partial molar enthalpy of water as a function of water uptake. For pure DNA, hydration is exothermic over the studied concentration range and we find an approximately linear relation between the partial molar enthalpy and the partial molar free energy. A kink in the isotherm appears at 20.0 ( 0.3 water molecules per base pair for a water activity of 0.80, consistent with A-B transition of the DNA. There is no detectable heat effect associated with this transition. At low water contents, the hydration of the DNACTA (1:1) complex is exothermic as for the pure DNA, but after incorporation of the first 7.0 ( 0.1 water molecules, the enthalpy changes sign. At 22 water molecules per base pair, the enthalpy levels off to 2.7 ( 0.2 kJ/mol. In a separate experiment, the swelling limit for the DNACTA complex was found to be 27 ( 1 waters per base pair. The DNACTA complex is arranged in a hexagonal structure. We propose a model for the DNACTA complex based on the packing of the components in an electroneutral way consisting of six DNA helices, presumably in an A configuration, placed around a central CTA + cylinder. The hydration of the complex is seen as a balance between the attractive electrostatic interaction causing the formation of the complex and a repulsive component arising from a hexagonal deformation of CTA + cylinders. An important contribution to the partial molar enthalpy of water comes, in this interpretation, from the release of conformational constraints of the CTA ion alkyl chains.

Gene therapy provides powerful new approaches to cure a large variety of diseases, which are being explored in ongoing worldwide clinical trials. To overcome the limitations of viral gene delivery systems, synthetic nonviral vectors such as cationic liposomes (CLs) are desirable. However, improvements of their efficiency at reduced toxicity and a better understanding of their mechanism of action are required. We present the efficient synthesis of a series of degradable multivalent cationic lipids (CMVLn, n=2 to 5) containing a disulfide bond spacer between headgroup and lipophilic tails. This spacer is designed to be cleaved in the reducing milieu of the cytoplasm and thus decrease lipid toxicity. Small angle X-ray scattering demonstrates that the initially formed lamellar phase of CMVLn–DNA complexes completely disappears when reducing agents such as DTT or the biologically relevant reducing peptide glutathione are added to mimic the intracellular milieu. The CMVLs (n=3 to 5) exhibit reduced cytotoxicity and transfect mammalian cells with efficiencies comparable to those of highly efficient non-degradable analogues and benchmark commercial reagents such as Lipofectamine 2000. Thus, our results demonstrate that degradable disulfide spacers may be used to reduce the cytotoxicity of synthetic nonviral gene delivery carriers without compromising their transfection efficiency.

With reference to our previous surface-force study on 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([HMIM] EtSO4) using an extended surface forces apparatus, which showed an ordered structure within the nanoconfined dry ionic liquid (IL) between mica surfaces that extended up to ∼60 nm from the surface, this work focuses on the influence of the environmental humidity on the bulk, interfacial and nanoconfined structure of [HMIM] EtSO4. Infrared spectroscopy and rheometry reflect the changes in chemical and physical properties of the bulk IL due to the uptake of water when exposed to ambient humidity, while wide-angle X-ray scattering shows a mild swelling of the bulk nanostructure, and the AFM sharp tip reveals an additional surface layer at the mica-IL interface. When the water-containing [HMIM] EtSO4 is nanoconfined between two mica surfaces, no long-range order is detected, in contrast to the results obtained for the dry IL, which demonstrates that the presence of water can prevent the liquid-to-solid transformation of this IL. A combination of techniques and the calculated Bjerrum length indicate that water molecules weaken interionic electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions, which lessens ion-ion correlations. Our work shows that the solid-like behavior of the nanoconfined IL strongly depends on the presence of absorbed water and hence, it has implications with regard to the correct interpretation of laboratory studies and their extension to real applications in lubrication.

Lyotropic phases of amphiphiles are a prototypical example of self-assemblies. Their structure is generally determined by amphiphile shape and their phase transitions are primarily governed by composition. In this paper, we demonstrate a new paradigm for membrane shape control where the electrostatic coupling of charged membranes to short DNA (sDNA), with tunable temperature-dependent end-to-end stacking interactions, enables switching between the inverted gyroid cubic structure (QIIG) and the inverted hexagonal phase (HIIC). We investigated the structural shape transitions induced in the QIIG phase upon complexation with a series of sDNAs (5, 11, 24, and 48 bp) with three types of end structure (“sticky” adenine (A)–thymine (T) (dAdT) overhangs, no overhang (blunt), and “nonsticky” dTdT overhangs) using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering. Very short 5 bp sDNA with dAdT overhangs and blunt ends induce coexistence of the QIIG and the HIIC phase, with the fraction of QIIG increasing with temperature. Phase coexistence for blunt 5 bp sDNA is observed from 27 °C to about 65 °C, where the HIIC phase disappears and the temperature dependence of the lattice spacing of the QIIG phase indicates that the sDNA duplexes melt into single strands. The only other sDNA for which melting is observed is 5 bp sDNA with dTdT overhangs, which forms the QIIG phase throughout the studied range of temperature (27 °C to 85.2 °C). The longer 11 bp sDNA forms coexisting QIIG and HIIC phases (with the fraction of QIIG again increasing with temperature) only for “nonsticky” dTdT overhangs, while dAdT overhangs and blunt ends exclusively template the HIIC phase. For 24 and 48 bp sDNAs the HIIC phase replaces the QIIG phase at all investigated temperatures, independent of sDNA end structure. Our work demonstrates how the combined effects of sDNA length and end structure (which determine the temperature-dependent stacking length) tune the phase behavior of the complexes. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that sDNAs and sDNA stacks with lengths comparable to or larger than the cubic unit cell length disfavor the highly curved channels present in the QIIG phase, thus driving the QIIG-to-HIIC phase transition. As the temperature is increased, the breaking of stacks due to thermal fluctuations restores increasing percentages of the QIIG phase.