Malla Shubha R L, Gujjari Archana, Corona Carlos E, Beall Gary W, Lewis L Kevin
Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization Program, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.
Heliyon. 2023 Jan 16;9(1):e13009. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13009. eCollection 2023 Jan.
Halloysite particles (HNTs) are naturally occurring aluminosilicate nanotubes of low toxicity that have shown great promise for drug and biomolecule delivery into human and animal cells. Kaolinite particles retain the same layered structure as HNT, but do not form nanotubes. In this study, the spectrophotometric and sedimentation properties of the two clays in aqueous solutions and their abilities to associate with both small and large nucleic acids have been investigated. Both clays scattered ultraviolet light strongly and this characteristic of HNT was not affected by either vacuum treatment to remove trapped gases or by sonication. Vacuum treatment increased the binding of small nucleic acids to HNT and this association was further enhanced by addition of divalent metal ions. By contrast, only small RNAs were bound efficiently by kaolinite in the presence of Mg ions. Large linear double-stranded DNAs and circular plasmid DNAs bound poorly to kaolinite under all conditions, but these nucleic acids could form strong associations with HNT. Differences in binding data were largely consistent with measurements of the available surface areas of each clay. These results demonstrate that interactions with each clay are critically dependent on both the type and the conformation of each nucleic acid.
埃洛石颗粒（HNTs）是天然存在的低毒性铝硅酸盐纳米管，在将药物和生物分子递送至人和动物细胞方面显示出巨大潜力。高岭石颗粒与HNT具有相同的层状结构，但不会形成纳米管。在本研究中，研究了这两种粘土在水溶液中的分光光度和沉降特性，以及它们与小核酸和大核酸结合的能力。两种粘土都强烈散射紫外光，HNT的这一特性不受去除 trapped 气体的真空处理或超声处理的影响。真空处理增加了小核酸与HNT的结合力，添加二价金属离子进一步增强了这种结合。相比之下，在镁离子存在下，高岭石仅能有效结合小RNA。在所有条件下，大的线性双链DNA和环状质粒DNA与高岭石的结合都很差，但这些核酸能与HNT形成强结合。结合数据的差异在很大程度上与每种粘土的可用表面积测量结果一致。这些结果表明，与每种粘土的相互作用严重依赖于每种核酸的类型和构象。
