Nanoparticles (NPs) decorated with a high density of DNA strands, also known as spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), are widely used in DNA-programmable assembly, sensing, imaging, and therapeutics. A regular SNA synthesis is very time-consuming, which requires great caution to avoid NP aggregation. Herein we report an extremely simple, efficient, and scalable process to realize instant (in seconds) synthesis of SNAs with record-high DNA density. Our method relies on a rapid water removal from a DNA/NP mixture in contact with a butanol phase. This process generates a dehydrated “solid solution” that greatly accelerates DNA anchorage on NPs via Au–S bonding. Compared to a state-of-the-art DNA conjugation strategy in the literature, up to 3-time increase of DNA density is achieved by the instant dehydration in butanol (INDEBT). The ultradense DNA grafting is accomplished in a few seconds, which is highly hybridizable to form core–satellite assemblies. Our work turns SNA synthesis into an easy job, and enables future explorations of physical, chemical, and biological effects of SNAs with ultrahigh DNA density.

中文翻译：

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具有记录 DNA 密度的球形核酸的快速合成

用高密度 DNA 链装饰的纳米颗粒 (NP)，也称为球形核酸 (SNA)，广泛用于 DNA 可编程组装、传感、成像和治疗。常规 SNA 合成非常耗时，需要非常小心以避免 NP 聚集。在此，我们报告了一种极其简单、高效且可扩展的过程，以实现具有创纪录高 DNA 密度的 SNA 的即时（以秒为单位）合成。我们的方法依赖于从与丁醇相接触的 DNA/NP 混合物中快速去除水分。这个过程会产生脱水的“固溶体”，通过 Au-S 键大大加速 DNA 锚定在 NPs 上。与文献中最先进的 DNA 偶联策略相比，通过丁醇中的即时脱水 (INDEBT) 可将 DNA 密度提高多达 3 倍。超密 DNA 移植在几秒钟内完成，可高度杂交以形成核心 - 卫星组件。我们的工作将 SNA 的合成变成了一项简单的工作，并使未来探索具有超高 DNA 密度的 SNA 的物理、化学和生物效应成为可能。