DNA-Tagged Gold Nanoparticles Could Enable Personalized Cancer Treatment
National University of Singapore
Jan. 27, 2025 (Medical Xpress) — A team of researchers from NUS has developed a novel method to enhance the precision of cancer treatment using gold nanoparticles tagged with DNA barcodes.
Led by Assistant Professor Andy Tay from the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering and Institute of Health Innovation & Technology at NUS, the study demonstrates how gold nanoparticles of specific shapes, such as triangles, excel in delivering therapeutic nucleic acids and heating tumor cells during photothermal therapy.
Importantly, these barcodes enabled the team to monitor multiple nanoparticle designs simultaneously in vivo, as their sequences could be easily extracted and analyzed to locate the nanoparticles’ whereabouts within the body.
“We used thiol-functionalisation to securely anchor the DNA barcodes to the surface of the gold nanoparticles. This ensures the barcodes remain stable, resistant to enzymatic degradation and do not interfere with cellular uptake,” said Asst Prof Tay.
To demonstrate this, the researchers prepared nanoparticles in six different shapes and sizes, where their distribution and uptake across various cell types were monitored. They found that round nanoparticles, despite showing poor uptake in cell culture studies, were excellent in targeting tumors in preclinical models as they were less likely to be eliminated by the immune system.