Self-Assembly of an Aptamer-Decorated, DNA-Protein Hybrid Nanogel: A Biocompatible Nanocarrier for Targeted Cancer Therapy.

Nanocarrier-based chemotherapy is one of the most efficient approaches for the treatment of cancer, and hence, the design of new nanocarriers is very important. Herein, the design of a new class of physically cross-linked nanoparticles (nanogel) solely made of biomolecules including DNA, protein, and biotin as a nanocarrier for the targeted cancer therapy is reported. A specific molecular recognition interaction between biotin and streptavidin is explored for the cross-linking of a DNA nanostructure for the crafting of a nanogel.