How to Construct DNA Hydrogels for Environmental Applications: Advanced Water Treatment and Environmental Analysis

Abstract

With high binding affinity, porous structures, safety, green, programmability, etc., DNA hydrogels have gained increasing recognition in the environmental field, i.e., advanced treatment technology of water and analysis of specific pollutants. DNA hydrogels have been demonstrated as versatile potential adsorbents, immobilization carriers of bioactive molecules, catalysts, sensors, etc. Moreover, altering components or choosing appropriate functional DNA optimizes environment-oriented hydrogels. However, the lack of comprehensive information hinders the continued optimization. The principle used to fabricate the most suitable hydrogels in terms of the requirements is the focus of this Review. First, different fabrication strategies are introduced and the ideal characteristic for environmental applications is in focus. Subsequently, recent environmental applications and the development of diverse DNA hydrogels regarding their synthesis mechanism are summarized. Finally, the Review provides an insight into the remaining challenging and future perspectives in environmental applications.

Multiplex microRNA imaging in living cells using DNA-capped-Au assembled hydrogels

“…miRNA, siRNA or DNA aptamers) for cell-specific gene delivery in biological applications. 18 , 29 , 33 , 34 The intrinsic responsive properties, high cell uptake efficiency and gene loading capacity of DNA hydrogels 35 endow them with great potential for intracellular DNA/RNA functional molecular trigger responsive detection, which has barely been explored.…”

Smart and Functionalized Development of Nucleic Acid‐Based Hydrogels: Assembly Strategies, Recent Advances, and Challenges

“…[54] Moreover, the incorporated synthetic polymers do not affect the original properties of the DNA itself, endowing the hydrogel with multiple functionalities. [54] For example, pNIPAM is a thermosensitive polymer that can result in the shrinking or swelling of the hydrogel, while further inducing the phase change by adjusting the lowest critical solution temperature (LCST)based temperature. Based on this reversible change in pNIPAM, Li et al [63] prepared a pNIPAM-DNAzyme hydrogel that displayed intense catalytic activity in the liquid phase system at room temperature.…”

“…This actively synergistic effect significantly improves the mechanical strength of biomaterials, accelerates the assembly of NAHs, reduces the required concentration of nucleic acids, and further broadens the application scopes of these biomaterials. [ 54 , 55 , 56 ]…”

“…The participation of synthetic polymers in the hydrogel not only substantially reduces the use of nucleic acids while saving costs, but also increases the mechanical strength and stabilizes the hydrogel network via the electrostatic interaction with DNA. [ 54 ] Moreover, the incorporated synthetic polymers do not affect the original properties of the DNA itself, endowing the hydrogel with multiple functionalities. [ 54 ] For example, pNIPAM is a thermosensitive polymer that can result in the shrinking or swelling of the hydrogel, while further inducing the phase change by adjusting the lowest critical solution temperature (LCST)‐based temperature.…”

Stimuli‐Responsive Biomolecule‐Based Hydrogels and Their Applications

“…Hydrogels represent ab road class of soft materials consisting of hydrophilic matrices that absorb ahigh content of water (> 95 %) in the carrying network. [1] Many hydrogels are either polymers of natural origin [2] (such as polysaccharides, [3] nucleic acids, [4] or proteins [2b,f, 5] )o rm an-made polymers crosslinked by covalent bridges (e.g. polyacrylamide or polyacrylates bridged by bisacrylamide, [6] disulfides, [7] boronate ester/diol linkers [8] or supramolecular complexes composed of hydrogen bonds, [9] metal-ligand complexes, [10] or host-guest interactions, [11] and more [12] ).…”