Development of efficient molecular medicines, including gene therapeutics, RNA therapeutics, and DNA vaccines, depends on efficient means of transfer of DNA or RNA into the cell. Potential problems, including toxicity and immunogenicity, surrounding viral methods of DNA delivery have necessitated the use of nonviral, synthetic carriers. To better design synthetic carriers, or transfection reagents, the modular design of viruses has inspired a modular approach to DNA and RNA delivery. Each modular component can be designed to circumvent each of the many barriers. The modular approach will allow modification of individual components for a specific application. By utilizing a dense silica nanoparticle to form a ternary complex, transfection efficiency of a DNA-transfection reagent complex was increased by a factor of approximately 10 by concentrating the DNA at the surface of cells. Surface modification of the silica nanoparticles allowed determination of the cellular uptake mechanism with only minor alteration of transfection efficiency. Nanoparticles are internalized by an endosome-lysosomal route followed by perinuclear accumulation. The modification mechanism confirms that surface modification of the modular system can allow specific moieties to be incorporated into the modular system without significant alteration of the transfbetion efficiency. By showing that the modular system based upon concentration of DNA at the level of the cell can be used to increase transfection efficiency, we have shown that further modification of the system may better target DNA delivery and overcome other barriers of DNA expression.