CRISPR/Cas9 is a combined protein (Cas9) and an engineered single guide RNA (sgRNA) genome editing platform that offers revolutionary solutions to genetic diseases. It has, however, a double delivery problem owning to the large protein size and the highly charged RNA component. In this work, we report the first example of CRISPR/Cas9 encapsulated by nanoscale zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs) with a loading efficiency of 17% and enhanced endosomal escape promoted by the protonated imidazole moieties. The gene editing potential of CRISPR/Cas9 encapsulated by ZIF-8 (CC-ZIFs) is further verified by knocking down the gene expression of green fluorescent protein by 37% over 4 days. The nanoscale CC-ZIFs are biocompatible and easily scaled-up offering excellent loading capacity and controlled codelivery of intact Cas9 protein and sgRNA.

We report an i-motif structural probing system based on Thioflavin T (ThT) as a fluorescent sensor. This probe can discriminate the structural changes of RET and Rb i-motif sequences according to pH change.

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A low-molecular-weight hydrogel derived from riboflavin (vitamin B(2)) that self-assembles to provide supramolecular nanofibers, biocompatible material, can be used to deliver VEGF-siRNA efficiently into human cells by the endocytosis pathway, where the siRNA is functionalized.

The supramolecular assembly of anionic azobenzene dicarboxylate and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) formed a stimuli responsive hydrogel with a critical gelation concentration (CGC) of 0.33 wt%. This self-sustainable two-component system was able to repair damage upon light irradiation. Moreover, it was successfully employed in the fabrication of highly sensitive humidity sensors for the first time.