Aptamer-functionalized nucleic acid nanotechnology for biosensing, bioimaging and cancer therapy
Xiaofang Zheng, Zhiyong Huang, Qiang Zhang, Guoli Li, Minghui Song, Ruizi Peng
Abstract
Nucleic acids have enabled the fabrication of self-assemblies and dynamic operations. Among different functional nucleic acids, aptamers can specifically bind to a wide range of targets, including proteins, viral antigens, living cells and even tissues, and have thus emerged as molecular recognition tools in molecular medicine. Hence, aptamer-functionalized nucleic acid nanotechnology offers applications of biosensing, bioimaging, and cancer therapy. In this review, after a brief overview of nucleic acid nanotechnology, we focus on the integration of aptamers with nucleic acid nanotechnology, including self-assembly constructions and dynamic molecular manipulations. The emerging applications in molecular medicine are subsequently reviewed with aptamer-based self-assemblies and aptamer-involved dynamic molecular manipulation. For convenience, applications are broadly categorized into biosensing, bioimaging, and cancer therapy. Finally, challenges and potential development of nucleic acid nanotechnology are discussed.