The Novel Technology:
The present disclosure relates to encapsulation of functional biomolecules inside icosahedral DNA capsules for in vivo delivery. The present disclosure also discloses the entrapment of a functional biomolecules like FITC dextran within the cavity of a DNA polyhedron without any molecular recognition or chemical conjugation between host (DNA icosahedron) and cargo (FITC Dextran). This DNA polyhedron is structurally well defined and shows high encapsulation efficiency.
Applications:
- To target molecules to various sites in living organisms by changing the surface properties of DNA and conjugating it to various tags like folate
- To study the functional behaviour of encapsulated molecules in confined environments or as target specific delivery agents for functional drugs
- To precisely position functional molecules on the surface of DNA icosahedron
- To encapsulate various functional molecules in the DNA nanocapsules
Advantages:
- This novel method is superior to current encapsulating scaffolds because:
- It is not limited to molecules that need to undergo molecular recognition with the host scaffold
- Larger varieties of molecules may be encapsulated provided they have a size compatibility with the polyhedron
- The size of the polyhedron can also be easily altered to encapsulate differently sized molecules
- Guest molecules do not need to undergo a chemical reaction for encapsulation and the DNA scaffold is amenable to site specific chemical modifications using multiple orthogonal chemistries.
Business Model:
Early-stage technology with proof of concept showing the entrapment of a functional biomolecule like FITC dextran within the cavity of a DNA polyhedron without any molecular recognition or chemical conjugation between host (DNA icosahedron) and cargo (FITC Dextran). This DNA polyhedron is structurally well defined and shows high encapsulation efficiency. Looking for potential licensee(s) to take the technology to next stage of development.
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Yamuna Krishnan, NCBS
Invention ID: CMP-012
IP Status: Patent Pending
Jurisdictions: India (IN), United States (US), Europe (EP)
For more details, please write to:
techtransfer @ ccamp.res.in