Growing prospects of DNA nanomaterials in novel biomedical applications

Abstract

As an important genetic material for life, DNA has been investigated widely in recent years, especially in interdisciplinary fields crossing nanomaterials and biomedical applications. It plays an important role because of its extraordinary molecular recognition capability and novel conformational polymorphism. DNA is also a powerful and versatile building block for the fabrication of nanostructures and nanodevices. Such DNA-based nanomaterials have also been successfully applied in various aspects ranging from biosensors to biomedicine and special logic gates, as well as in emerging molecular nanomachines. In this present mini-review, we briefly overview the recent progress in these fields. Furthermore, some challenges are also discussed in the conclusions and perspectives section, which aims to stimulate broader scientific interest in DNA nanotechnology and its biomedical applications.

Fig. 1. (A) Electrochemical aptamer-based sensors with dual-reporter drift correction. (B) 3D tetrahedral DNA scaffold and hybridization chain reaction for electrochemical miRNA detection. These figures have been adapted from ref. 18 and 19, with permission from the American Chemical Society.

Fig. 2. pH detection by applying the different conformations of a DNA duplex and triplex and their varying affinities to the GO surface. This figure has been adapted from ref. 28, with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Fig. 3. (A) The triangular, square, and tube DNA origami used as DOX vehicles for cancer therapy. This figure has been adapted from ref. 98, with permission from the American Chemical Society. (B) Cocoon-like self-degradable DNA nanoclew for anticancer drug delivery. This figure has been adapted from ref. 99, with permission from the American Chemical Society. (C) A self-assembled DNA nanostructure for targeted and pH-triggered DOX delivery. This figure has been adapted from ref. 102, with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Fig. 4. (A) Controlled release of encapsulated cargo from a DNA icosahedron using a chemical trigger. This figure has been adapted from ref. 107, with permission from John Wiley and Sons. (B) Loading of MB onto DNA Td constructed with four DNA strands for in vivo photodynamic therapy. This figure has been adapted from ref. 109, with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Fig. 5. (A) Nanosized DNA assemblies in polypod-like structures as efficient vehicles for immunostimulatory CpG motifs. (B) A self-assembled DNA dendrimer nanoparticle for efficient delivery of the immunostimulatory CpG motifs. These figures have been adapted from ref. 116 and 122, with permission from the American Chemical Society.

Fig. 6. (A) DNA colorimetric logic gates based on a triplex-helix molecular switch. This figure has been adapted from ref. 133, with permission from the American Chemical Society. (B) An optical DNA logic gate based on strand displacement and magnetic separation, which responds to multiple microRNAs. This figure has been adapted from ref. 136, with permission from Springer Nature. (C) A DNA sequential logic gate using two-ring DNA. This figure has been adapted from ref. 138, with permission from the American Chemical Society.

Fig. 7. (A) A colorimetric biosensor based on DNAzyme logic gate operations for DNA screening. This figure has been adapted from ref. 145, with permission from Elsevier. (B) A programmable and multi-parameter DNA-based logic platform for cancer recognition and targeted therapy. This figure has been adapted from ref. 153, with permission from the American Chemical Society. (C) DNA-templated Ag nanoclusters as signal transducers for a resettable keypad lock. This figure has been adapted from ref. 159, with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Fig. 8. (A) A surface-confined proton-driven DNA pump using a rigid DNA tetrahedron nanostructure as a dynamic scaffold. This figure has been adapted from ref. 210, with permission from John Wiley and Sons. (B) A molecular platform with an integrated rotatable positioning arm controlled by electric fields. This figure has been adapted from ref. 212, with permission from Science Publishing Group.

Fig. 9. DNA sequence-directed shape changes of photopatterned hydrogels of six-petal flower and crab structures. This figure has been adapted from ref. 216, with permission from Science Publishing Group.