DNA minicircles as novel STAT3 decoy oligodeoxynucleotides endowed with anticancer activity in triple-negative breast cancer.

Decoy technology is a versatile and specific DNA oligonucleotide-based targeting strategy of pathogenic transcription factors (TFs). Chemical modifications of linear decoy oligonucleotides have been made to decrease nuclease sensitivity because of the presence of free ends but at the cost of new limitations that affect their use as therapeutic drugs. Although a short DNA minicircle is a phosphodiester nucleic acid without free ends, its potential therapeutic activity as a TF decoy oligonucleotide has not yet been investigated.

Unexpected Order-Disorder Transition in Diacetylene Alcohol Langmuir Films.

The phase diagram of the Langmuir film of diacetylene alcohol-henicosa-5,7-diyn-1-ol-is investigated by means of surface pressure versus surface area isotherms, Brewster angle microscopy, X-ray reflectivity, and grazing incident X-ray diffraction. Among the usual phases described in the generic phase diagram of small head group molecules, one observes an unexpected reversible transition from an ordered condensed phase to a disordered one upon increasing the surface pressure. We postulate that the origin of this unusual, unprecedented transition results from the competition between the interactions between the diacetylene blocks in the hydrophobic chain and the hydrogen bonds between head groups and water.

Cardiolipin-Based Lipopolyplex Platform for the Delivery of Diverse Nucleic Acids into Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern. Because only a few novel classes of antibiotics have been developed in the last 40 years, such as the class of oxazolidinones, new antibacterial strategies are urgently needed [1]. Nucleic acid-based antibiotics are a new type of antimicrobials.

Liposomes for PET and MR Imaging and for Dual Targeting (Magnetic Field/Glucose Moiety): Synthesis, Properties, and in Vivo Studies.

We describe the potentiality of a new liposomal formulation enabling positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance MR() imaging. The bimodality is achieved by coupling a Ga-based radiotracer on the bilayer of magnetic liposomes. In order to enhance the targeting properties obtained under a permanent magnetic field, a sugar moiety was added in the lipid formulation.