Buckets of DNA nanoparticles

Molecular buckets that pack DNA into nanoparticles could have implications for gene therapy, say scientists in Greece. Konstantina Yannakopoulou at the National Center for Scientific Research ‘Demokritos’ in Athens and her team have made a series of cyclic sugars, called cyclodextrins, that can interact with DNA. Cyclodextrins have a cone-like structure that allows them to act as hosts for guest molecules. This new class of cyclodextrin can compress DNA guests into nanoparticles, which is a requirement for transferring DNA into cells, said Yannakopoulou. whole article on "www.rsc.org":[ http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/cb/Volume/2007/2/BucketsofDNAnanoparticles.asp]

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