Spontaneous assembly of DNAamorphous calcium phosphate nanocomposite spheres for surface-mediated gene transferElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3ce40264a

Submicrospheres composed of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) and DNA spontaneously assembled on a substrate via homogeneous calcium phosphate (CaP) nucleation followed by deposition in a highly supersaturated labile CaP solution. The nanocomposite layer of sphere assembly showed higher gene transfer efficiency than a continuous film nanocomposite layer previously fabricated via heterogeneous nucleation in a metastable supersaturated solution. A DNACaP nanocomposite layer with a unique structure; the assembly of submicron and amorphous phase spheres with improved gene transfer efficiency was achieved by controlling the nucleation kinetics of CaPs.