Stimuli-responsive nucleic acid nanostructures for efficient drug delivery

Based on complementary base pairing, nucleic acid molecules have acted as engineerable building blocks to prepare versatile nanostructures with unique shapes and sizes. Benefiting from excellent programmability and biocompatibility, rationally designed nucleic acid nanostructures have been widely employed in biomedical applications. With the development of the chemical biology of nucleic acids, various stimuli-responsive nucleic acid nanostructures have been constructed by tailored chemical modification with multifunctional components. In this minireview, we summarize the representative and latest research about the employment of stimuli-responsive nucleic acid nanostructures for drug delivery in response to endogenous and exogenous stimuli (redox gradient, pH, nuclease, biomacromolecule, and light). We also discuss the broad prospects and remaining challenges of nucleic acid nanotechnology in biomedical applications.

Automated summary

Nucleic acid molecules, as engineerable building blocks, can be designed to form versatile nanostructures with unique shapes and sizes. These nanostructures, which are programmable and biocompatible, have been widely used in biomedical applications. Stimuli-responsive nucleic acid nanostructures have been constructed through tailored chemical modification, allowing drug delivery in response to various stimuli. This minireview summarizes the representative and latest research on stimuli-responsive nucleic acid nanostructures for drug delivery and discusses their prospects and challenges in biomedical applications.