DNA nanomaterials loaded with curcumin and antimiRNA inhibits cell proliferation: A biophysical and cellular study

Abstract

Curcumin (Cur) is a class of flavonoids isolated from turmeric (Zingiberaceae family), which has numerous biological applications, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Since Cur has less solubility in aqueous solvents, and poor cellular permeability, a new drug delivery strategy is desired to enhance the therapeutic potential of Cur. In the current study, we synthesized branched DNA (bDNA) and tetrahedron DNA (tDNA) nanomaterials with antimiRs that binds to Cur through electrostatic interaction for promoting drug delivery. Meanwhile, Cur-bound DNA nanostructures exhibiting hypochromic effect in absorbance and decreased fluorescence intensity. Dye displacement studies reveal the binding of Cur to DNA nanostructures by replacing DAPI, Hoechst, and Ethidium bromide. Furthermore, conformation of DNA nanostructures was unaltered in the presence of Cur in CD spectroscopic studies. FTIR spectra determine the structural bonding between Cur and DNA nanostructures. Moreover, the cell proliferation activity was significantly decreased in the presence of complexes, which confirms the increased tumor suppression activity of Cur-loaded antimiR-DNA nanomaterials. Cur exhibited spontaneous and enthalpy-driven binding to bDNA and tDNA nanostructures, where structural architecture influenced the interaction strength. Thus, the finding can be explored to design novel DNA nanostructures containing multiple antimiRs which can synergistically downregulate multiple oncogenic miRNAs and applied for cancer therapeutics.