The United States of America, As Represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

University of California

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Wojciech Kasprzak

Kirill Andreevich Afonin

Bruce Allen Shapiro

Mathias D Viard

Luc Jaeger

Yaroslava Georgievna Yingling

Eckart Bindewald

Marina A Dobrovolskaia

Justin R Halman

Isil Severcan

Cody Geary

Eckart H U Bindewald

The description provides a molecular switch comprising at least two nanoparticles, wherein a first nanoparticle comprises DNA and/or RNA oligonucleotides, and a second nanoparticle which is complementary to the first nanoparticle comprises reverse complementary DNA and/or RNA oligonucleotides of the first nanoparticle; wherein the complementary nanoparticles interact under physiological conditions leading to thermodynamically driven conformational changes in the first and second nanoparticles leading to their re-association to release one or more duplexes comprising said DNA and/or RNA oligonucleotides and the reverse complementary DNA and/or RNA oligonucleotides, and wherein the nanoparticles are not rings and have no single stranded toeholds.

Functionally-interdependent shape switching nucleic acid nanoparticles

The instant invention provides polyvalent RNA nanoparticles comprising RNA motifs as building blocks that can form RNA nanotubes. The polyvalent RNA nanoparticles are suitable for therapeutic or diagnostic use in a number of diseases or disorders.

RNA nanoparticles and nanotubes

Growing community of inventors

Frederick, MD, United States of America

Wojciech Kasprzak