Progress Toward Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Elimination, and Toxicity of DNA Nanostructures

DNA nanostructures are perfectly defined nanomaterials, and their shape/structure/surface chemistry (e.g., appended ligands) can be conveniently modulated by designing the sequence of their constituent DNA strands. No other natural or synthetic drug delivery system offers such predictability or modularity. As such, DNA nanostructures may provide exciting and potentially new opportunities for delivering drugs to diseased cell populations, or to specific sub-cellular compartments. To date, however, most studies have been performed in cell culture and only recently has the field advanced to in vivo testing. Considering how rapidly the field is evolving, this Progress Report surveys available studies involving the testing of DNA nanostructures in vivo, in an effort to elucidate trends and provide guidelines for future developments. This contribution presents the current progress toward characterizing the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, and toxicity of DNA nanostructures.