Gold nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery induces widespread changes in the expression of innate immunity genes.

The unique properties of oligonucleotide (and small interfering RNA)-modified gold nanoparticle conjugates make them promising intracellular gene regulation agents. We found that gold nanoparticles stably functionalized with covalently attached oligonucleotides activate immune-related genes and pathways in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, but not an immortalized, lineage-restricted cell line. These findings have strong implications for the application of oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticle conjugates in translational research and in the development of therapeutics and gene delivery systems.