Senne Aerts

Cancer remains one of the most challenging diseases to treat due to its complexity and heterogeneity. There is an urge to develop new, efficient therapeutic strategies to tackle this multifaceted disease. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has emerged as a promising therapeutic modality because of its ability to silence specific genes that are involved in cancer progression. However, the delivery of siRNA faces significant hurdles, including fast degradation by nucleases, off-target effects, and inefficient cellular and tumor uptake. To overcome these challenges, nanotechnology offers innovative approaches, with DNA origami showing immense potential as a versatile and biocompatible delivery platform.

What is DNA Origami?
DNA origami is a cutting-edge nanotechnology technique where a long, single-stranded DNA molecule is folded into precise nanostructures using short “staple” strands. These nanostructures are biocompatible, customizable, and ideal for encapsulating and delivering therapeutic agents like siRNA. They can protect siRNA from degradation, improve targeting specificity, and enable controlled release within cancer cells.

Project Objectives
This project aims to design and develop DNA origami nanostructures as advanced delivery platforms for siRNA in cancer therapy. The primary goals include:
* Engineering a stable, biocompatible DNA origami platform capable of encapsulating siRNA.
* Optimizing siRNA delivery to cancer cells and assessing its release and gene-silencing efficacy.
* Exploring functionalization strategies to enhance targeting specificity using ligands like antibodies or aptamers.