AS1411 derivatives as carriers of G-quadruplex ligands for cervical cancer cells

November 13, 2019

Title

AS1411 derivatives as carriers of G-quadruplex ligands for cervical cancer cells

Author

Joana Figueiredo, Jéssica Lopes-Nunes, Josué Carvalho, Francisca Antunes, Márcia Ribeiro, Maria Paula Cabral Campello, António Paulo, Artur Paiva, Gilmar F. Salgado, João A. Queiroz, Jean-Louis Mergny, Carla Cruz

Year

2019

Journal

International Journal of Pharmaceutics

Abstract

Nucleic acid aptamers can specifically bind to target molecules on the cell membrane that mediate their entrance into the cells. Their small size, high binding affinity, specificity, good biocompatibility, stability and low immunogenicity make them ideal drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. These biopharmaceuticals have potential for the delivery of anticancer compounds to diseased tissues, increasing their effectiveness while mitigating the off-target toxicity towards healthy cells. Herein, we have studied two quadruplex-forming DNA sequences derived from the nucleolin-targeted aptamer AS1411 as supramolecular carriers for the cancer-selective delivery of acridine orange derivatives (C3, C5 and C8) in cervical cancer cells.

Instrument

J-815

Keywords

Circular dichroism, G-quadruplex structure, Ligand binding, Thermal stability, Biochemistry