Transcription inhibition using oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticles.

The capture of T7 RNA polymerase using double-stranded promoter DNA on the surface of gold nanoparticles has been demonstrated. The competitive binding and inhibition of T7 RNA polymerase due to specific interactions on the nanoparticle surface represents a transcription factor decoy approach in a model system. The efficiency of inhibition was determined for various nanoparticle sizes, surface coverage, and linker length for double-stranded promoter DNA on gold nanoparticles. The experiments provide a basis for determining the accessibility of binding sites on nanoparticle surfaces for applications involving cell targeting or the use of nanoparticles as binding agents in solution.