Carbon nanotube - Protamine hybrid: Evaluation of DNA cell penetration

We propose here a novel nanovector based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) functionalized by protamine. Our results based on qPCR methods clearly indicate that protamine-SWCNT/DNA hybrids were much more successful than ammonium-SWCNT/DNA hybrids to cross cell membrane and penetrate into cells. We also studied the cellular internalization mechanism of our complexes and showed that endocytosis was strongly involved. Finally, we proposed molecular dynamic simulations to understand the formation of the protamine-SWCNT/DNA complex and to extract the interaction responsible for its deliverance upon cell membrane.