A Thermal and Enzymatic Dual-Stimuli Responsive DNA-Based Nanomachine for Controlled mRNA Delivery

Abstract

The extreme instability of mRNA makes the practical application of mRNA-based vaccines heavily rely on efficient delivery system and cold chain transportation. Herein, a DNA-based nanomachine, which achieves programmed capture, long-term storage without cryopreservation, and efficient delivery of mRNA in cells, is developed. The polythymidine acid (Poly-T) functionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (DNA-PNIPAM) is synthesized and assembled as the central compartment of the nanomachine. The DNA-PNIPAM nano-assembly exhibits reversible thermal-responsive dynamic property: when lower than the low critical solution temperature (LCST, ≈32 °C) of PNIPAM, the DNA-PNIPAM transforms into extension state to expose the poly-T, facilitating the hybridization with polyadenylic acid (Poly-A) tail of mRNA; when higher than LCST, DNA-PNIPAM re-assembles and achieves an efficient encapsulation of mRNA. It is remarkable that the DNA-PNIPAM nano-assembly realizes long-term storage of mRNA (≈7 days) at 37 °C. Biodegradable 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan is assembled on the outside of DNA-PNIPAM to facilitate the endocytosis of mRNA, RNase-H mediating mRNA release occurs in cytoplasm, and efficient mRNA translation is achieved. This work provides a new disign principle of nanosystem for mRNA delivery.