Figure 2.
3D structure and details of chemical composition of inorganic and organic Nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated to aptamers/nucleic acids. (a) Cerium oxide NP 3D structure is due to the aggregation of several cerium oxide molecules. (b) Gold NPs are modified with Cysteamine (Cys); this modification on gold NP is mainly used to stabilize its binding to the target drug. (c) The hollow 3D structure of a mesoporous silica NP is represented as well; briefly, this structure is composed by a combination of micelles complexed with a silica precursor (SiOH) on the surface of the NP (magnified in the red box). (d) 3D structure of a liposome NP and detailed chemical structure of a single phospholipid composing the membrane of liposome (green box). (e) Chitosan-composed NP is displayed, alongside with the chemical structure of a positively charged chitosan macromolecule on the NH3 group (green circle). (f) Branched chemical structure and 3D composition of a Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer is shown; in the orange box, the typical chemical structure of a PAMAM dendrimer branch is represented.