DNA polymeric materials possess many unique properties such as programmable molecular sequences and excellent biocompatibility and have demonstrated a high potential in an assortment of biomedical applications. Herein, a magnetic DNA nanogel is constructed, aiming at the applications of targeting drug delivery and triggered drug release. Centering on magnetic nanoparticles, a DNA nanogel layer is synthesized via rolling circle amplification, which equips abundant sites for the loading of anticancer drugs. Guided by an external magnetic field, the magnetic DNA nanogel can target tumor cells efficiently. Moreover, DNA nanogel is responsive to multistimuli including temperature, pH, and nuclease, enabling a controlled release of anticancer drugs. Our system achieves magnet-controlled delivery and stimuli-triggered drug release and provides a new strategy for the development of precision medicine.

Nucleic acid–based functional nanomaterials (NAFN) have been widely used as emerging drug delivery nanocarriers for cancer therapeutics. Considerable works have demonstrated that NAFN can effectively load and protect therapeutic agents, and particularly enable targeting delivery to the tumor site and stimuli‐responsive release. These outstanding performances are due to NAFN's unique properties including inherent biological functions and sequence programmability as well as biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this Review, the recent progress on NAFN as advanced cancer therapeutics is highlighted. Three main cancer therapy approaches are categorized including chemo‐, immuno‐, and gene‐therapy. Examples are presented to show how NAFN are rationally and exquisitely designed to address problems in cancer therapy. The challenges and future development of NAFN are also discussed toward future more practical biomedical applications.

New membrane materials with excellent water permeability and high ion rejection are needed. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising candidates by virtue of their diversity in chemistry and topology. In this work, continuous aluminum MOF-303 membranes were prepared on α-Al2O3 substrates via an in situ hydrothermal synthesis method. The membranes exhibit satisfying rejection of divalent ions (e.g., 93.5% for MgCl2 and 96.0% for Na2SO4) on the basis of a size-sieving and electrostatic-repulsion mechanism and unprecedented permeability (3.0 L·m–2·h–1·bar–1·μm). The water permeability outperforms typical zirconium MOF, zeolite, and commercial polymeric reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Additionally, the membrane material exhibits good stability and low production costs. These merits recommend MOF-303 as a next-generation membrane material for water softening.