Selective Light-Triggered Release of DNA from Gold Nanorods Switches Blood Clotting On and Off

• Main Authors: Cifuentes Rius, Anna (Contributor), Baxamusa, Salmaan H. (Contributor), de Puig Guixe, Helena (Contributor), Flemister, Dorma C. (Contributor), Hamad-Schifferli, Kimberly (Author)
• Other Authors: Lincoln Laboratory (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering (Contributor), Hamad, Kimberly (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science, 2013-09-30T14:04:34Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Blood clotting is a precise cascade engineered to form a clot with temporal and spatial control. Current control of blood clotting is achieved predominantly by anticoagulants and thus inherently one-sided. Here we use a pair of nanorods (NRs) to provide a two-way switch for the blood clotting cascade by utilizing their ability to selectively release species on their surface under two different laser excitations. We selectively trigger release of a thrombin binding aptamer from one nanorod, inhibiting blood clotting and resulting in increased clotting time. We then release the complementary DNA as an antidote from the other NR, reversing the effect of the aptamer and restoring blood clotting. Thus, the nanorod pair acts as an on/off switch. One challenge for nanobiotechnology is the bio-nano interface, where coronas of weakly adsorbed proteins can obscure biomolecular function. We exploit these adsorbed proteins to increase aptamer and antidote loading on the nanorods.
National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DMR #0906838)