High-order structures from nucleic acids for biomedical applications

Over the past 40 years, research in the fields of DNA nanotechnology and RNA nanotechnology has taken nucleic acid molecules out of their biological contexts and harnessed their unique base-pairing and self-assembly properties to generate well-defined, organized, and functional supramolecular architectures. Capitalizing on an intrinsic biocompatibility and the ability to tailor size, shape, and functionality from the bottom up, recent work has positioned high-order nucleic acid structures as powerful biomedical tools. This review summarizes advances in nanotechnology that have enabled the fabrication of synthetic nucleic acid structures. Nucleic acid-based platforms for biosensing and therapeutic drug delivery are highlighted. Finally, an outlook that considers the limitations and future challenges for this field is presented.