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Prospective Cancer Therapies Using Stimuli‐Responsive DNA Nanostructures
Author(s) -
Seitz Iris,
Shaukat Ahmed,
Nurmi Kurt,
Ijäs Heini,
Hirvonen Jouni,
Santos Hélder A.,
Kostiainen Mauri A.,
Linko Veikko
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.202100272
Subject(s) - nanotechnology , dna nanotechnology , nuclease , biocompatible material , nanorobotics , computer science , dna origami , dna , computational biology , chemistry , nanostructure , materials science , medicine , biology , biomedical engineering , biochemistry
Nanostructures based on DNA self‐assembly present an innovative way to address the increasing need for target‐specific delivery of therapeutic molecules. Currently, most of the chemotherapeutics being used in clinical practice have undesired and exceedingly high off‐target toxicity. This is a challenge in particular for small molecules, and hence, developing robust and effective methods to lower these side effects and enhance the antitumor activity is of paramount importance. Prospectively, these issues could be tackled with the help of DNA nanotechnology, which provides a route for the fabrication of custom, biocompatible, and multimodal structures, which can, to some extent, resist nuclease degradation and survive in the cellular environment. Similar to widely employed liposomal products, the DNA nanostructures (DNs) are loaded with selected drugs, and then by employing a specific stimulus, the payload can be released at its target region. This review explores several strategies and triggers to achieve targeted delivery of DNs. Notably, different modalities are explained through which DNs can interact with their respective targets as well as how structural changes triggered by external stimuli can be used to achieve the display or release of the cargo. Furthermore, the prospects and challenges of this technology are highlighted.