Fig. 1.

Size-density map of various types of SNAs showing potential polydispersity in size and nucleic acid density. Particle diameter is defined as the linear combination of core diameter and 2× the length of an 18-mer DNA (B-DNA form) with a 1.6-nm-long linker. Linkers are assumed to be in the fully stretched conformation. DNA density refers to the density at the outer surface of the particle as opposed to the footprint where DNA meets with the particle core. DNA loading and particle size data were obtained from the literature (7, 8, 10, 13, 32) (shown as mean ± σ). The values for DNA loading on AuNP surfaces represent typical SNA syntheses and may not indicate the highest achievable loading.