Charge-neutral DNA nanoparticles have been developed in which single molecules of DNA
are compacted to their minimal possible size. We speculated that the small size of these
DNA nanoparticles may facilitate gene transfer in postmitotic cells, permitting nuclear uptake
across the 25-nm nuclear membrane pore. To determine whether DNA nanoparticles can
transfect nondividing cells, growth-arrested neuroblastoma and hepatoma cells were
transfected with DNA/liposome mixtures encoding luciferase. In both models, growth …