Intracellular delivery of nucleic acids as gene regulation agents typically requires the use of cationic carriers or viral vectors, yet issues related to cellular toxicity or immune responses hamper their attractiveness as therapeutic candidates. The discovery that spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), polyanionic structures comprised of densely packed, highly oriented oligonucleotides covalently attached to the surface of nanoparticles, can effectively enter more than 50 different cell types presents a potential strategy for overcoming the limitations of conventional transfection agents. Unfortunately, little is known about the mechanism of endocytosis of SNAs, including the pathway of entry and specific proteins involved. Here, we demonstrate that the rapid cellular uptake kinetics and intracellular transport of SNAs stem from the arrangement of oligonucleotides into a 3D architecture, which supports their targeting of class A scavenger receptors and endocytosis via a lipid-raft-dependent, caveolae-mediated pathway. These results reinforce the notion that SNAs can serve as therapeutic payloads and targeting structures to engage biological pathways not readily accessible with linear oligonucleotides.

A novel class of metal-free spherical nucleic acid nanostructures was synthesized from readily available starting components. These particles consist of 30 nm liposomal cores, composed of an FDA-approved 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) lipid monomer. The surface of the liposomes was functionalized with DNA strands modified with a tocopherol tail that intercalates into the phospholipid layer of the liposomal core via hydrophobic interactions. The spherical nucleic acid architecture not only stabilizes these constructs but also facilitates cellular internalization and gene regulation in SKOV-3 cells.

A one-pot synthesis of micellar spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanostructures using Pluronic F127 as a thermoresponsive template is reported. These novel constructs are synthesized in a chemically straightforward process that involves intercalation of the lipid tails of DNA amphiphiles (CpG motifs for TLR-9 stimulation) into the hydrophobic regions of Pluronic F127 micelles, followed by chemical cross-linking and subsequent removal of non-cross-linked structures. The dense nucleic acid shell of the resulting cross-linked micellar SNA enhances their stability in physiological media and facilitates their rapid cellular internalization, making them effective TLR-9 immunomodulatory agents. These constructs underscore the potential of SNAs in regulating immune response and address the relative lack of stability of noncovalent constructs.

We investigated the sequence-dependent cellular uptake of spherical nucleic acid nanoparticle conjugates (SNAs). This process occurs by interaction with class A scavenger receptors (SR-A) and caveolae-mediated endocytosis. It is known that linear poly(guanine) (poly G) is a natural ligand for SR-A, and it has been proposed that interaction of poly G with SR-A is dependent on the formation of G-quadruplexes. Since G-rich oligonucleotides are known to interact strongly with SR-A, we hypothesized that SNAs with higher G contents would be able to enter cells in larger amounts than SNAs composed of other nucleotides, and as such we measured cellular internalization of SNAs as a function of constituent oligonucleotide sequence. Indeed, SNAs with enriched G content show the highest cellular uptake. Using this hypothesis, we chemically conjugated a small molecule (camptothecin) with SNAs to create drug-SNA conjugates and observed that poly G SNAs deliver the most camptothecin to cells and have the highest cytotoxicity in cancer cells. Our data elucidate important design considerations for enhancing the intracellular delivery of spherical nucleic acids.

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