Functional DNA Structures and Their Biomedical Applications

Since the discovery of the double-helix structure in 1953, nucleic acids have been developed from natural genetic codes into functional building blocks in a wide range of biotechnology and materials sciences. Taking advantage of their design diversity and biocompatibility, functional nucleic acids facilitate the bottom-up fabrication of nanomaterials that are highly potential for molecular medicine to treat different diseases, such as cancers. The present perspective article introduces recent advances in the use of these unique properties of nucleic acid biopolymers for biomedical applications. Specifically, nano-material/nucleic acid hybrid structures for sensing, controlled drug release, programmable intracellular imaging, and apoptosis, as well as logic calculation, are discussed. Furthermore, the detailed operation for both extracellular and intracellular bioactivity regulation with these new design functional nucleic acid nanostructures are fully illustrated.