Chad A. Mirkin Developing methods for controlling the architecture of molecules & materials on the 1 - 100 nm length scale

Research Interests

The Mirkin laboratory focuses on the development and application of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) for immunotherapy, gene regulation, and biosensing. SNAs, which consist of a nanoparticle core densely functionalized with radially oriented oligonucleotides, form the basis of highly sensitive and selective assays capable of detecting disease-associated targets at ultra-low concentrations. They also serve as powerful platforms for gene regulation and immunotherapy across a broad range of diseases. Notably, despite their highly negatively charged surfaces, SNAs naturally enter more than 60 cell types, including primary cells, without the need for cationic transfection agents. Future efforts in the Mirkin laboratory aim to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the gene-editing and immunotherapeutic functions of SNAs and to leverage these insights to develop next-generation nucleic acid therapeutics with improved efficacy and clinical impact.

Selected Publications

E711-19 placement and orientation dictate CD8+ T cell response in structurally defined spherical nucleic acid vaccines. Hwang J, Ocampo TA, Mayer V, Kang J, Paranandi KS, Kim, YJ, Han Z, Cavaliere JP, Kudruk S, Lorch JH, Mirkin CA. Sci Adv. (2026)

Controlling intracellular processing to enhance spherical nucleic acid immune stimulation. Kang J, Teplensky MH, Dittmar JW, Evangelopoulos M, Hwang J, Mirkin CA. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (45) e2409554122. (2025)

Chemotherapeutic Spherical Nucleic Acids. Luo T, Kim YJ, Han Z, Hwang, J, Kumari S, Mayer V, Cushing A, Romero, RA, Mirkin CA. ACS Nano, 19, 44, 38861–38874. (2025)

A general genome editing strategy using CRISPR lipid nanoparticle spherical nucleic acids. Han Z, Huang C, Luo T, Mirkin CA. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (36) e2426094122. (2025)

DNA Dendron Tagging as a Universal Way to Deliver Proteins to Cells. Ngo KH, Distler ME, Evangelopoulos M, Ocampo T, Ma Y, Minorik AJ, Mirkin CA. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 147, 2, 2129-2136. (2025)

 

View all publications by Chad A. Mirkin listed in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed). Current and former IBiS students in blue.