Xu Lu, Feng Lei, Hao Jingcheng, Dong Shuli
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015 Apr 29;7(16):8876-85. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b01514. Epub 2015 Apr 15.
A dual-responsive cationic surfactant, 4-ethoxy-4'-(trimethyl- aminoethoxy) azobenzene trichloromonobromoferrate (azoTAFe), which contains both a light-responsive moiety azobenzene and a paramagnetic counterion, FeCl3Br, was designed and synthesized. Not only does this cationic surfactant abundantly utilize inexhaustible and clean sources, i.e., light and magnetic field, but it also serves as a powerful dual-switch molecule for effectively controlling the capture and release of DNA. Our results could provide potential applications in gene therapy for creating smart and versatile machines to control the transport and delivery of DNA more intelligently and robustly. It was proved that the light switch can independently realize a reversible DNA compaction. The introduction of a magnetic switch can significantly enhance the compaction efficiency, help compact DNA with a lower dosage and achieve a magnetic field-based targeted transport of DNA. In addition, the light switch can make up the irreversibility of magnetic switch. This kind of self-complementation makes the cationic azoTAFe be useful as a potential tool that can be applied to the field of gene therapy and nanomedicine.
设计并合成了一种双响应阳离子表面活性剂4-乙氧基-4'-(三甲基氨基乙氧基)偶氮苯三氯一溴化铁（azoTAFe），它既含有光响应部分偶氮苯，又含有顺磁性抗衡离子[FeCl3Br]−。这种阳离子表面活性剂不仅能充分利用取之不尽且清洁的光源和磁场，还能作为一种强大的双开关分子，有效控制DNA的捕获和释放。我们的研究结果可为基因治疗提供潜在应用，用于创建智能且多功能的机器，更智能、更可靠地控制DNA的运输和递送。事实证明，光开关可独立实现可逆的DNA压缩。引入磁开关可显著提高压缩效率，有助于以更低剂量压缩DNA，并实现基于磁场的DNA靶向运输。此外，光开关可弥补磁开关的不可逆性。这种自我互补使得阳离子偶氮TAFe成为一种可应用于基因治疗和纳米医学领域的潜在工具。
