This study establishes and validates a series of three dimentional (3D) DNA origami frameworks (DOFs) carrying imaging probes to evaluate their pharmacokinetics and real-time bio-distribution in mice. Three typical DOFs with distinguished structural properties are subjected to mice intravenous injection to systematically investigate their in vivo behaviors. Tracing the radioisotope zirconium-89 (89 Zr) trapped at the inner space of the frameworks, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is employed to record the real-time bio-distribution of the structures and acquire their pharmacokinetic parameters in the major metabolic organs. The 3D DOFs show different behavior compared to previous structures, with lower kidney accumulation and higher liver retention. Modifications to the structures, such as exposed ssDNA or polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties, impact their behavior, but are structure-dependent. The 43 nm icosahedra framework among the DOFs perform the best in liver targeting, with the ssDNA extensions enhancing this tendency. The modification of triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), further improves its uptake in liver cells, especially in hepatocytes over other cell types, discovered by flow cytometry analysis.
Keywords: DNA origami; bio-distribution; hepatocyte targeting; pharmacokinetics; radioactive labeling.
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