Aptamer-Gated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for N Protein Triggered Release of Remdesivir and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Abstract

Since the 2019-nCoV outbreak was first reported, hundreds of millions of people all over the world have been infected. There is no doubt that improving the cure rate of 2019-nCoV is one of the most effective means to deal with the current serious epidemic. At present, Remdesivir (RDV) has been clinically proven to be effective in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. However, the uncertain side effects make it important to reduce the use of drugs while ensuring the self-healing effect. We report an approach here with targeted therapy for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses illness. In this study, mesoporous silica was used as the carrier of RDV, the nucleocapsid protein (N protein) aptamer was hybridized with the complementary chain, and the double-stranded DNA was combined with gold nanoparticles as the gates of mesoporous silica pores. When the RDV-loaded mesoporous silica is incubated with the N protein, aptamer with gold nanoparticles dissociate from the complementary DNA oligonucleotide on the mesoporous silica surface and bind to the N protein. The releasing of RDV was determined by detecting the UV-vis absorption peak of RDV in the solution. These results show that the RDV delivery system designed in this work has potential clinical application for the treatment of 2019-nCoV.

The Application of Biomaterials for the Vaccine, Treatment, and Detection of SARS-CoV-2

“…In contrast, studies of SNPs carrying proteins or antiviral drugs for SARS-CoV-2 have been approved. For instance, Zhang’s group prepared MSNs carrying remdesivir for targeted drug delivery in vitro . Mizuta and colleagues developed hybrid SNPs and evaluated their antigen-carrying ability .…”

“…For instance, Zhang’s group prepared MSNs carrying remdesivir for targeted drug delivery in vitro. 182 Mizuta and colleagues developed hybrid SNPs and evaluated their antigen-carrying ability. 183 Importantly, research based on biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles (BMSNs) has demonstrated robust immunogenicity in vivo on high TH1-based humoral and cellular immune responses.…”