floxuridine spherical nucleic acid

Floxuridine spherical nucleic acid is an experimental structural nanomedicine developed by Chad Mirkin and his team at Northwestern University, specifically designed to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The therapy consists of a nanoscopic liposome core densely coated with synthetic DNA strands made entirely of 5-fluoro-2’-deoxyuridine (F-dU), a phosphorylated derivative of the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). This spherical nucleic acid (SNA) architecture allows the drug to be aggressively internalized by myeloid cells through scavenger receptors, bypassing traditional drug resistance mechanisms and reducing off-target toxicity. Once inside the cell's lysosomes, the DNA strands are degraded, releasing the active chemotherapeutic payload to inhibit DNA synthesis and induce apoptosis. Preclinical studies have shown that this SNA formulation is significantly more potent than standard 5-FU treatment in AML models, with a high degree of selectivity for cancerous myeloid cells over healthy tissue.

Other names

chemotherapeutic SNAF-dU SNAfloxuridine SNAF-dU spherical nucleic acid