Selective enhancement of nucleases by polyvalent DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles.

We demonstrate that polyvalent DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (DNA-Au NPs) selectively enhance ribonuclease H (RNase H) activity while inhibiting most biologically relevant nucleases. This combination of properties is particularly interesting in the context of gene regulation, since high RNase H activity results in rapid mRNA degradation and general nuclease inhibition results in high biological stability. We have investigated the mechanism of selective RNase H activation and found that the high DNA density of DNA-Au NPs is responsible for this unusual behavior. This work adds to our understanding of polyvalent DNA-Au NPs as gene regulation agents and suggests a new model for selectively controlling protein-nanoparticle interactions.