Biomimetic DNA Nanotechnology to Understand and Control Cellular Responses

Abstract

At the cellular level, numerous nanocues guide the cells to adhere, interact, proliferate, differentiate, etc. Understanding and manipulating the cellular functions in vitro, necessitates the elucidation of these nanocues provided to the cells by the extracellular matrix (ECM), neighbouring cells or in the form of ligands. DNA nanotechnology is a biocompatible, flexible and a promising molecular level toolkit for mimicking cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. In this review, we summarize various advances in cell-matrix, cell-cell and cell receptor-ligand interactions using DNA nanotechnology as a tool. We also provide a brief outlook on the current challenges and the future potentials of these DNA-based nanostructures so as to inspire novel innovations in the field.

Heterogeneous DNA hydrogel loaded with Apt02 modified tetrahedral framework nucleic acid accelerated critical-size bone defect repair

“…Nucleic acid nanotechnology, leveraging DNA or RNA, is employed to construct various nanostructures (e.g., nanotube, origami, nanoflower, nanorobot) with predetermined designs [ 12 ]. Its extensive application in biomedical research spans biosensing, tissue regeneration, targeted drug delivery, and cancer therapy [ 13 ]. Among them, the use of DNA hydrogels in tissue engineering presents a promising solution, attributed to their biocompatibility biodegradability, and programmability [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Materials nanoarchitectonics in a two-dimensional world within a nanoscale distance from the liquid phase

“…The synthesis of functional materials has encompassed many fields, including organic synthesis, 1 inorganic chemistry, 2 polymer chemistry, 3 supramolecular chemistry, 4 coordination chemistry, 5 material chemistry, 6 and biochemistry. 7 It has become clear that not only the properties of the materials themselves, but also their internal structures and the component organization are important for the development of advanced functions. As a powerful methodology for high-resolution science and technology, nanotechnology has developed especially since the late 20th century.…”

DNA hydrogels for bone regeneration

“…DNA nanotechnology is a field where synthetic DNA strands are designed to fold into predetermined designer shapes in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) assemblies, including extended networks and cross-linked hydrogels ( 1 – 4 ). Self-assembled DNA scaffolds have controllable structural, mechanical, and biochemical properties with envisioned biomedical applications in extracellular matrix (ECM) mimetics for tissue regeneration, biosensing, targeted drug delivery, and cancer therapy ( 5 – 8 ). The use of DNA-based biomaterials for bone tissue regeneration aims to overcome inherent disadvantages of currently used bone grafts that rely on autogenous (bone from the same patient receiving the graft) or allogeneic (bone from another human donor) bone transplantation ( 9 , 10 ).…”