DNA Functional Nanomaterials for Controlled Delivery of Nucleic Acid-Based Drugs

Abstract

Nucleic acid-based drugs exhibited great potential in cancer therapeutics. However, the biological instability of nucleic acid-based drugs seriously hampered their clinical applications. Efficient in vivo delivery is the key to the clinical application of nucleic acid-based drugs. As a natural biological macromolecule, DNA has unique properties, such as excellent biocompatibility, molecular programmability, and precise assembly controllability. With the development of DNA nanotechnology, DNA nanomaterials have demonstrated significant advantages as delivery vectors of nucleic acid-based drugs by virtue of the inherent nucleic acid properties. In this study, the recent progress in the design of DNA-based nanomaterials for nucleic acid delivery is summarized. The DNA nanomaterials are categorized according to the components including pure DNA nanomaterials, DNA-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials, and DNA-organic hybrid nanomaterials. Representative applications of DNA nanomaterials in the controlled delivery of nucleic acid-based drugs are exemplified to show how DNA nanomaterials are rationally and exquisitely designed to address application issues in cancer therapy. At the end of this study, the challenges and future development of DNA nanomaterials are discussed.

Progress of Nanomaterials in Photodynamic Therapy Against Tumor

“…Based on this, Yu et al utilized doxorubicin (Dox), antisense DNA (target Survivin mRNA) that could inhibit Survivin expression, photosensitizer (ZnPc), and Au NPs with excellent plasmonic properties, to develop a multifunctional nanotherapeutic platform with both diagnostic and therapeutic functions, termed Apt-DNA-Au nanomachines, for in situ imaging and targeted PDT/PTT/CDT synergistic therapy of breast cancer ( Figure 2 ) Yu et al (2021) . Moreover, the tightly packed DNA sequences on the surface of nanomaterials were used as highly specific aptamers, which not only resisted the enzymatic hydrolysis of DNA sequences, but also improved the tumor targeting of PDT ( Lv et al, 2021 ). Su et al took persistent luminescent nanoparticles (PLNPs) as the core, and formed a novel nanoprobe TCPP-gDNA-Au/PLNP for persistent luminescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy by coupling DNA sequences containing AS1411 aptamers through AuNPs Su et al (2021) .…”

Application Perspectives of Nanomedicine in Cancer Treatment

“…DNA-based NPs can effectively load a variety of drugs, and achieve targeted drug delivery to tumor tissues with the assistance of specific functional elements, while improving cellular drug uptake and stimuli-responsive drug release. It is an effective tool to solve common problems of chemotherapy (low efficacy of drugs, large toxic and side effects, etc) and many progress have been made in recent years ( Lv et al, 2021 ). In 1982, Seeman’s group proposed that DNA molecules can construct precise and ordered nanostructures based on the A-T, G-C Watson-Crick base pairing principle, which opened the prelude to DNA nanotechnology.…”

Bio-Tailored Sensing at the Nanoscale: Biochemical Aspects and Applications

“…Biomolecules represent naturally occurring ready-to-use nanomaterials as they are nanoscopic objects with regular shape, high binding specificity and affinity, surfaces suitable for chemical functionalization and catalytic activity as in the case of enzymes, for instance [ 4 ]. Moreover, biomolecules can be modelled via genetic and protein engineering [ 5 , 6 ] and their surfaces enable the interaction with other nanomaterials; as a result, biomolecules have been widely exploited to functionalize nanomaterials thus enabling precise tailoring of hybrid functional bioconjugates at the nanoscale [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Beyond biomolecules, organic and inorganic nanomaterials with sharpen architecture have attracted interest for their high surface-to-volume ratio, conductivity, shock-bearing ability and optical tunability, e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanorods, graphene, nanofibers, molybdenum disulfide, carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides and quantum dots [ 3 ].…”