There has been much interest in the use of therapeutics based on ribonucleic acid interference(RNAi) to inhibit synthesis of mutant proteins ever since Elbashir et al. (Elbashir, S. M., Harborth, J., Lendeckel, W., Yalcin, A., Weber, K. and Tuschl, T., 2001. Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells. Nature. 411, 494-498.) found that synthetic double stranded small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) can initiate this evolutionarily conserved process in mammalian cells. Since RNAi is able to target single genes and therefore mitigate the underlying molecular pathology of diseases, RNAi-based therapeutics will most likely benefit monogenic neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. It is however particularly difficult to deliver exogenous materials such as siRNAs into neurons in vivo as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) isolates the brain from the vascular system and prevents permeation of most materials. Neurons also do not take up exogenous materials readily. Therefore, effective delivery of siRNAs into the brain remains one of the biggest challenges impeding their use as a potential neurotherapeutic. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles are a class of anionic clay materials that have demonstrated great potential as a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) delivery system for a variety of mammalian cell lines due to their unique physiochemical properties. This thesis examined the feasibility of LDH as a siRNA delivery system for cultured neurons and demonstrated that the delivered siRNAs are able to effectively down-regulate synthesis of a target protein with minimal toxicity. Experiments were conducted using double stranded DNAs (dsDNAs) initially, and siRNAs were then used to verify these results. It was shown that nucleic acids(dsDNAs and siRNAs) could successfully intercalate into pristine LDHs to form nucleic acid-LDH complexes that had properties suitable for use as a delivery system in mammalian cells. These studies established that LDHs and nucleic acid-LDH complexes were biocompatible with neurons isolated from embryonic day 17.5 mouse cerebral cortex, suggesting that LDH can be used for nucleic acid delivery into cultured neurons. LDHs were also shown to successfully deliver nucleic acids into a non-neural mammalian cell line (NIH 3T3 cells). Finally, this thesis demonstrated for the first time that LDHs were able to deliver siRNAs into neurons, providing encouraging preliminary evidence that sequence specific gene silencing of the Mus Musculus Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC) gene had occurred. However, down-regulation of the DCC protein did not occur consistently, suggesting that further optimisation is needed to improve the efficacy of siRNA-LDH complexes to inhibit expression of target protein in neurons. In future, LDHs should be further developed as an efficient siRNA delivery system for therapeutic gene silencing in the central nervous system using a neurodegenerative disease model such as the Huntington’s disease mouse model, which closely phenocopies the human disease. This model will allow the in vivo efficacy of these nanoparticles to be tested and subsequently improved in order to deliver siRNAs locally and systematically into the brain.

There has been much interest in the use of therapeutics based on ribonucleic acid interference(RNAi) to inhibit synthesis of mutant proteins ever since Elbashir et al. (Elbashir, S. M., Harborth, J., Lendeckel, W., Yalcin, A., Weber, K. and Tuschl, T., 2001. Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells. Nature. 411, 494-498.) found that synthetic double stranded small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) can initiate this evolutionarily conserved process in mammalian cells. Since RNAi is able to target single genes and therefore mitigate the underlying molecular pathology of diseases, RNAi-based therapeutics will most likely benefit monogenic neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. It is however particularly difficult to deliver exogenous materials such as siRNAs into neurons in vivo as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) isolates the brain from the vascular system and prevents permeation of most materials. Neurons also do not take up exogenous materials readily. Therefore, effective delivery of siRNAs into the brain remains one of the biggest challenges impeding their use as a potential neurotherapeutic. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles are a class of anionic clay materials that have demonstrated great potential as a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) delivery system for a variety of mammalian cell lines due to their unique physiochemical properties. This thesis examined the feasibility of LDH as a siRNA delivery system for cultured neurons and demonstrated that the delivered siRNAs are able to effectively down-regulate synthesis of a target protein with minimal toxicity. Experiments were conducted using double stranded DNAs (dsDNAs) initially, and siRNAs were then used to verify these results. It was shown that nucleic acids(dsDNAs and siRNAs) could successfully intercalate into pristine LDHs to form nucleic acid-LDH complexes that had properties suitable for use as a delivery system in mammalian cells. These studies established that LDHs and nucleic acid-LDH complexes were biocompatible with neurons isolated from embryonic day 17.5 mouse cerebral cortex, suggesting that LDH can be used for nucleic acid delivery into cultured neurons. LDHs were also shown to successfully deliver nucleic acids into a non-neural mammalian cell line (NIH 3T3 cells). Finally, this thesis demonstrated for the first time that LDHs were able to deliver siRNAs into neurons, providing encouraging preliminary evidence that sequence specific gene silencing of the Mus Musculus Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC) gene had occurred. However, down-regulation of the DCC protein did not occur consistently, suggesting that further optimisation is needed to improve the efficacy of siRNA-LDH complexes to inhibit expression of target protein in neurons. In future, LDHs should be further developed as an efficient siRNA delivery system for therapeutic gene silencing in the central nervous system using a neurodegenerative disease model such as the Huntington’s disease mouse model, which closely phenocopies the human disease. This model will allow the in vivo efficacy of these nanoparticles to be tested and subsequently improved in order to deliver siRNAs locally and systematically into the brain.

Submitted by Pós Imunologia (ppgimicsufba@gmail.com) on 2017-02-20T18:12:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 OLIVEIRA RC-2015.pdf: 1350637 bytes, checksum: b7f46beea8a9ab0be171a19ce556fa7f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Delba Rosa (delba@ufba.br) on 2017-06-14T13:28:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 OLIVEIRA RC-2015.pdf: 1350637 bytes, checksum: b7f46beea8a9ab0be171a19ce556fa7f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-14T13:28:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 OLIVEIRA RC-2015.pdf: 1350637 bytes, checksum: b7f46beea8a9ab0be171a19ce556fa7f (MD5) / Fapesb / O lúpus eritematoso sistêmico (LES) é uma doença reumática autoimune que pode acometer uma em cada 1.700 mulheres brasileiras. Trata-se de doença cuja etiologia se fundamenta na associação da predisposição genética dos pacientes com fatores ambientais e hormonais, perda da tolerância imunológica e propagação da autorreatividade inata e adaptativa, resultando em manifestações clínicas complexas e multivariadas. Diversos aspectos associados com a atividade do LES, especialmente a doença renal presente em importante proporção dos pacientes, têm sido objeto de intensa investigação. Entre estes, a participação de autoanticorpos e a contribuição de componentes bioativos como citocinas e hormônios na nefrite lúpica ocupam posição de destaque. Objetivo: No presente estudo foi investigada a participação dos anticorpos anti-dsDNA totais e de alta avidez, antinucleossomo (ANuA) e hiperprolactinemia na atividade do LES e nas suas manifestações clínicas com destaque para Artropatia de Jaccoud, usando como população alvo mulheres lúpicas residentes na Bahia. Material e Métodos: Cento e quarenta e duas mulheres portadoras de LES foram investigadas para a prevalência e níveis de anticorpos anti-dsDNA totais, anticorpos anti-dsDNA de alta avidez e ANuA, além de hiperprolactinemia. Adicionalmente, foram testadas as correlações dos níveis destes componentes com a atividade da doença e suas associações com as manifestações clínicas mais prevalentes nestas pacientes. Autoanticorpos antinucleares foram determinados por testes de imunofluorescência indireta e ELISA. Níveis séricos de prolactina e citocinas foram determinados por imunoensaios de captura de antígeno, enquanto os níveis de C3 e C4 foram determinados por imunonefelometria. Os níveis de creatinina e proteinúria foram medidos por métodos colorimétricos e a atividade lúpica avaliada com o protocolo SLEDAI-2K. Testes de estatística univariada foram usados nas análises dos resultados. Resultados: Os níveis de anticorpos anti-dsDNA de alta avidez e de anti-dsDNA totais se correlacionaram diretamente com os níveis de anticorpos antinucleossomo, sendo esta correlação mais forte com os primeiros. Correlações significativas entre os níveis de C3, C4, VHS, proteinúria e SLEDAI foram observadas com os níveis de anticorpos anti-dsDNA de alta avidez e, exceto proteinúria, com os níveis de ANuA. Os níveis de anticorpos anti-dsDNA totais se correlacionaram apenas com os níveis de C3 e SLEDAI, porém de forma menos significativa que os anticorpos anti-dsDNA de alta avidez e ANuA. Pacientes com artropatia de Jaccoud apresentaram níveis mais altos de anticorpos antidsDNA totais e IL-6. Hiperprolactinemia leve a moderada foi encontrada em 19,7% das pacientes, observando-se níveis séricos de prolactina mais altos nas pacientes com comprometimento renal, além de existir correlação entre os níveis séricos deste hormônio com os níveis de creatinina sérica e proteinúria. Adicionalmente, existiu uma aparente supressão da produção de anticorpos anti-RNP- 70 em pacientes lúpicas hiperprolactinêmicas com fenômeno de Raynaud. Conclusões: Anticorpos anti-dsDNA constituem-se em importantes biomarcadores de doença ativa em pacientes portadoras de LES residentes na Bahia, podendo complementar o diagnóstico da artropatia de Jaccoud nestas pacientes, além de sugerir a presença de comprometimento renal quando são de alta avidez e detectados conjuntamente com proteinúria e baixos níveis de C3. Por outro lado, a presença de uma hiperprolactinemia leve a moderada pode ser verificada nestas mulheres, cujo envolvimento na doença renal lúpica foi demonstrado neste estudo, além de inibir a produção de anticorpos anti- RNP-70. / Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease that affect one in 1,700 Brazilian women. This disease is associated with a genetic predisposition of the patients and has the contribution of hormonal and environmental factors. Lupus' patients have a loss of immune tolerance, resulting in uncontrolled autoimmune reactivity and complex and multivariate clinical manifestations. Various aspects associated with the activity of SLE, especially kidney disease, have been the subject of intense investigation. Among these, the participation of autoantibodies and the contribution of bioactive components such as cytokines and hormones occupy a prominent position in these studies. Objective: The present study investigated in SLE women who lived in Bahia (Brazil), the participation of total and high avidity dsDNA, antinucleosome antibodies (ANuA) and hyperprolactinemia in the activity of this disease and its clinical manifestations, especially arthropathy of Jaccoud. Material and Methods: One hundred and forty-two women with SLE were investigated for the presence of hyperprolactinemia and prevalence and levels of total and high avidity anti-dsDNA antibodies and ANuA. Correlations among these components with biomarkers of lupus activity and their associations with the most prevalent clinical manifestations in the patients were also tested. Indirect fluorescent antibody test and ELISA determined antinuclear autoantibodies. Capture immunoassays measured prolactin and cytokine levels while C3 and C4 levels were determined by immunonephelometric tests. Creatinine levels and proteinuria were measured by colorimetric methods and lupus activity assessed with the SLEDAI-2K protocol. Descriptive statistical tests were used in the analyses of the results. Results: The levels of both high avidity and total anti-ds DNA antibodies correlated directly with the levels of antinucleosome antibodies, but this correlation was stronger with dsDNA antibodies of high avidity. Significant correlations among the levels of C3, C4, ESR, proteinuria and SLEDAI were observed with the levels of anti-dsDNA antibodies of high avidity and, except proteinuria, with ANuA levels. The levels of total anti-dsDNA antibodies correlated only with levels of C3 and SLEDAI, but these correlations were lesser than those of high avidity dsDNA antibodies and ANuA. Patients with Jaccoud arthropathy presented higher levels of dsDNA antibodies and IL-6, whereas mild to moderate hyperprolactinemia was found in 19.7% of the lupus patients. Higher serum levels of prolactin were demonstrated in patients with kidney disease, as well as there was a correlation between the levels of this hormone with their serum levels of creatinine and urine protein. In addition, hyperprolactinemia seems to inhibit the production of anti-RNP-70 autoantibodies. CONCLUSIONS: Antibodies to dsDNA are important biomarkers of active disease in SLE patients from Bahia and the increase in dsDNA antibody levels can complement the diagnosis of Jaccoud’s arthropathy. In addition, high avidity dsDNA autoantibodies are a good laboratory evidence of renal impairment in lupus patients when they are detected together with proteinuria and low levels of C3. On the other hand, the presence of a mild to moderate hyperprolactinaemia can be seen in lupus women whose involvement in lupus kidney disease and inhibition of the production of RNP-70 autoantibodies was demonstrated in this study.

<p>In sera remitted for anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) analysis, the supplement of a sensitive anti-SSA/Ro ELISA to the conventional ANA screening by immunofluorescence (IF) revealed that one fourth of the individuals with IF-ANA negative, but SSA/Ro ELISA positive sera, had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or cutaneous LE. Consequently, adding a sensitive anti-SSA/Ro ELISA to the ANA screening is valuable for the serological detection of ANA negative SLE/LE patients.</p><p>SLE patients often have measurable interferon-alpha (IFN-α) levels in serum, and IFN-α treatment of patients with non-autoimmune diseases can induce SLE. Thus, the type I IFN system seems to be important in SLE and was therefore investigated. Initially, a decreased IFN-α producing capacity, due to a 70-fold reduction in the number of circulating natural IFN-α producing cells (NIPC), was noted in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from SLE patients. SLE-sera contained an endogenous IFN-α inducing factor (SLE-IIF), consisting of IgG and DNA in the form of small immune complexes (300-1000 kD). The SLE-IIF selectively activated NIPC and was more common in sera from patients with active disease compared to individuals with inactive disease. IFN-α producing cells could be detected by immunohistochemistry in both lesional and unaffected skin from SLE patients, and IFN-α gene transcription could be verified by in situ hybridisation in some of the skin biopsies. A reduced number of NIPC, detected by expression of the blood dendritic cell antigen (BDCA)-2, was noted among SLE-PBMC. The IFN-α production triggered by SLE-IIF in SLE-PBMC was inhibited by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to BDCA-2 and markedly decreased by anti-BDCA-4 mAbs. </p><p>The observations in the present thesis may explain the ongoing IFN-α production in SLE patients, indicate an important role for the activated type I IFN system in the pathogenesis, and suggest that direct targeting of SLE-NIPC may constitute a new therapeutic principle in SLE.</p>

In sera remitted for anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) analysis, the supplement of a sensitive anti-SSA/Ro ELISA to the conventional ANA screening by immunofluorescence (IF) revealed that one fourth of the individuals with IF-ANA negative, but SSA/Ro ELISA positive sera, had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or cutaneous LE. Consequently, adding a sensitive anti-SSA/Ro ELISA to the ANA screening is valuable for the serological detection of ANA negative SLE/LE patients. SLE patients often have measurable interferon-alpha (IFN-α) levels in serum, and IFN-α treatment of patients with non-autoimmune diseases can induce SLE. Thus, the type I IFN system seems to be important in SLE and was therefore investigated. Initially, a decreased IFN-α producing capacity, due to a 70-fold reduction in the number of circulating natural IFN-α producing cells (NIPC), was noted in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from SLE patients. SLE-sera contained an endogenous IFN-α inducing factor (SLE-IIF), consisting of IgG and DNA in the form of small immune complexes (300-1000 kD). The SLE-IIF selectively activated NIPC and was more common in sera from patients with active disease compared to individuals with inactive disease. IFN-α producing cells could be detected by immunohistochemistry in both lesional and unaffected skin from SLE patients, and IFN-α gene transcription could be verified by in situ hybridisation in some of the skin biopsies. A reduced number of NIPC, detected by expression of the blood dendritic cell antigen (BDCA)-2, was noted among SLE-PBMC. The IFN-α production triggered by SLE-IIF in SLE-PBMC was inhibited by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to BDCA-2 and markedly decreased by anti-BDCA-4 mAbs. The observations in the present thesis may explain the ongoing IFN-α production in SLE patients, indicate an important role for the activated type I IFN system in the pathogenesis, and suggest that direct targeting of SLE-NIPC may constitute a new therapeutic principle in SLE.

Dans une première partie, nous mesurons l'affinité de l'interaction entre [Ru(pby)2dppz]2+ et l'ADN en utilisant la luminescence induite lors de la complexation. Nous étudions l'évolution de l'affinité lorsque la force ionique de la solution augmente. Dans une deuxième partie, nous modifions les extrémités d'un double brin d'ADN en y greffant des fluorophores. De la mesure de transfert d'énergie non-radiative entre ces fluorophores, nous étudions l'évolution de la longueur du complexe. Nous effectuons un dosage d'un double brin de 15 paires de bases d'ADN par le complexe ruthéné. Nous nous servons de la luminescence induite par l'intercalation du groupement dppz. Cependant, l'incrément de luminescence par groupement intercalé n'est pas connu, et nous ne pouvons pas le mesurer en saturant le brin d'ADN. Nous utilisons alors une technique mise au point par Nishida [Method for Measuring the Binding of Small Molecules to Proteins from Binding-Induced Alterations of Physical-Chemical Properties], dans laquelle deux titrations de deux solutions d'ADN de deux concentrations différentes sont effectuées. En utilisant le fait que, lorsque deux solutions d'ADN complexé par le composé ruthéné, possèdent la même luminescence par paire de base , le taux de complexation de ces deux solutions doit être le même, nous pouvons alors déterminer, sans hypothèse supplémentaire, le taux de complexation de l'ADN. De l'évolution de ce taux en fonction avec la concentration de ligand, nous déduisons son affinité pour l'ADN. Nous étudions maintenant le changement de longueur d'un double brin d'ADN de 15 paires de bases, modifié à ses deux extrémités par deux fluorophores : Alexa488 et Alexa568. Lorsque Alexa 488 est porté dans un état excité, il peut se désexciter en transférant de l'énergie de manière non-radiative à Alexa568, qui se désexcite alors en émettant des photons de plus faibles énergie que ceux émis par Alexa488. L'efficacité de ce transfert d'énergie peut être quantifié à partir de la mesure des intensités émises à basse et haute énergie. Elle dépend a priori de l'efficacité couplage (et en conséquence de la distance) entre les deux fluorophores. Nous effectuons des mesures de temps de vie des états excités de chacun des fluorophores. Nous avons observé que l'addition de ligand a pour conséquence une forte inhibition quenching des fluorophores. De l'analyse de l'évolution du temps de vie du fluorophore donneur d'une part et de celui du fluorophore accepteur d'autre part, nous déduisons l'évolution de l'efficacité du transfert d'énergie en fonction de la concentration de ligand. Nous confrontons les résultats obtenus par chacune de ces analyses, et en déduisons finalement, en nous servant de l'analyse de l'équilibre effectuée dans la première partie, l'évolution de la longueur de la chaîne en fonction du taux de complexation / This Ph.D thesis is mainly divided in to 2 parts. The first part is luminescence study, we are interested in the affinity constant (Ka) change under different salinity environments when the complexation of [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+-DNA arrive equilibrium. In the second part, we focus our attention on the kinetic study by fluorescence which comes from the fluorophore. The distance change between 2 fluorophores is explored when [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ intercalates into DNA, which lead to the variation of DNA conformation. Any changes in DNA conformation will be reflected by the efficiency change of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Quantitative analysis on the Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+-DNA interaction will be built in the second part. In the first part, the interaction of [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ with DNA is studied in a wide range of DNA / [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ ratios by using the luminescence signal which comes from complex. The affinity constant (Ka) is explored under different chloride sodium concentration (NaCl=[0, 100 mM]), when the complexation reaches equilibrium. Nishida method is employed to compute the value of Ka without any hypothesis. The value of affinity constant is at the level scale of 106 M-1 which is basically identical to the other researcher’s results. Ka decreased with increasing the concentration of NaCl as we expected. Quantitative analysis on the Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+-DNA interaction will be done in the second part. DNA was modified by different fluorophores at its extremities, 5’ end and 3’ end were labeled with alexa488 (seen as donor) and alexa568 (seen as acceptor), respectively. Our goal is to study the efficiency change of FRET and the change of distance between 2 fluorophores with fluorescence technique when one Ruthenium molecule intercalate in to DAN base pair. Two methods will be employed to achieve our idea. One is that the efficiency of FRET can be computed from the donor emission (alexa488), the other is the efficiency of FRET can be calculated from the acceptor emission (acceptor), the efficiency of FRET is highly dependent on the distance of 2 fluorophores (), any changes in distance will cause the efficiency change. The FRET efficiency decreased when the [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+ intercalated into DNA structure, which also meant that the distance between 2 fluorohore increased.

Elastic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT), boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT), double stranded DNA (dsDNA), paranemic-juxtapose crossover (PX-JX) DNA and dendrimer bound DNA are discussed in this thesis. Structural phase transitions of nucleic acids induced by external force, carbon nanotubes and graphene substrate are also studied extensively. Electrostatic interactions have a strong effect on the elastic properties of BNNTs due to large partial atomic charges on boron and nitrogen atoms. We have computed Young’s modulus (Y ) and shear modulus (G) of BNNT and CNT as a function of the nanotube radius and partial atomic charges on boron and nitrogen atoms using molecular mechanics calculation. Our calculation shows that Young’s modulus of BNNTs increases with increase in magnitude of the partial atomic charges on B and N atoms and can be larger than the Young’s modulus of CNTs of same radius. Shear modulus, on the other hand depends weakly on the magnitude of partial atomic charges and is always less than the shear modulus of the CNT. The values obtained for Young’s modulus and shear modulus are in excellent agreement with the available experimental results. We also study the elasticity of dsDNA using equilibrium fluctuation methods as well as nonequilibrium stretching simulations. The results obtained from both methods quantitatively agree with each other. The end-to-end length distribution P(ρ) and angle distribution P(θ) of the dsDNA has a Gaussian form which gives stretch modulus (γ1) to be 708 pN and persistence length (Lp) to be 42 nm, respectively. When dsDNA is stretched along its helix axis, it undergoes a large conformational change and elongates about 1.7 times its initial contour length at a critical force. Applying a force perpendicular to the DNA helix axis, dsDNA gets unzipped and separated into two single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). DNA unzipping is a fundamental process in DNA replication. As the force at one end of the DNA is increased the DNA starts melting above a critical force depending on the pulling direction. The critical force fm , at which dsDNA melts completely decreases as the temperature of the system is increased. The melting force in the case of unzipping is smaller compared to the melting force when the dsDNA is pulled along the helical axis. In the case of melting through unzipping, the double-strand separation has jumps which correspond to the different energy minima arising due to sequence of different base-pairs. Similar force-extension curve has also been observed when crossover DNA molecules are stretched along the helix axis. In the presence of mono-valent Na+ counterions, we find that the stretch modulus (γ1 ) of the paranemic crossover (PX) and its topoisomer juxtapose (JX) DNA structure is significantly higher (30 %) compared to normal B-DNA of the same sequence and length. When the DNA motif is surrounded by a solvent of divalent Mg2+ counterions, we find an enhanced rigidity compared to in Na+ environment due to the electrostatic screening effects arising from the divalent nature of Mg2+ counterions. This is the first direct determination of the mechanical strength of these crossover motifs which can be useful for the design of suitable DNA motifs for DNA based nanostructures and nanomechanical devices with improved structural rigidity. Negatively charged DNA can be compacted by positively charged dendrimer and the degree of compaction is a delicate balance between the strength of the electrostatic interaction and the elasticity of DNA. When the dsDNA is compacted by dendrimer, the stretch modulus, γ1 and persistence length, Lp decreases dramatically due to backbone charge neutralization of dsDNA by dendrimer. We also study the effect of CNT and graphene substrate on the elastic as well as adsorption properties of small interfering RNA (siRNA) and dsDNA. Our results show that siRNA strongly binds to CNT and graphene surface via unzipping its base-pairs and the propensity of unzipping increases with the increase in the diameter of the CNTs and is maximum on graphene. The unzipping and subsequent wrapping events are initiated and driven by van der Waals interactions between the aromatic rings of siRNA nucleobases and the CNT/graphene surface. However, dsDNA of the same sequence undergoes much less unzipping and wrapping on the CNT/graphene due to smaller interaction energy of thymidine of dsDNA with the CNT/graphene compared to that of uridine of siRNA. Unzipping probability distributions fitted to single exponential function give unzipping time (τ) of the order of few nanoseconds which decrease exponentially with temperature. From the temperature variation of unzipping time we estimate the free energy barrier to unzipping. We have also investigated the binding of siRNA to CNT by translocating siRNA inside CNT and find that siRNA spontaneously translocates inside CNT of various diameters and chiralities. Free en- ergy profiles show that siRNA gains free energy while translocating inside CNT and the barrier for siRNA exit from CNT ranges from 40 to 110 kcal/mol depending on CNT chirality and salt concentration. The translocation time τ decreases with the increase of CNT diameter having a critical diameter of 24 A for the translocation. After the optimal binding of siRNA to CNT/graphene, the complex is very stable which can serve as siRNA delivery agent for biomedical applications. Since siRNA has to undergo unwinding process in the presence of RNA-induced silencing complex, our proposed delivery mechanism by single wall CNT possesses potential advantages in achieving RNA interference (RNAi).