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Strategies for Stabilizing DNA Nanostructures to Biological Conditions
Author(s) -
Stephanopoulos Nicholas
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.201900075
Subject(s) - dna nanotechnology , nanotechnology , dna origami , nuclease , nanostructure , dna , nanomaterials , synthetic biology , chemistry , materials science , computational biology , biology , biochemistry
DNA is one of the most promising building blocks for creating functional nanostructures for applications in biology and medicine. However, these highly programmable nanomaterials (e.g., DNA origami) often require supraphysiological salt concentrations for stability, are degraded by nuclease enzymes, and can elicit an inflammatory response. Herein, three key strategies for stabilizing DNA nanostructures to conditions required for biological applications are outlined: 1) tuning the buffer conditions or nanostructure design; 2) covalently crosslinking the strands that make up the structures; and 3) coating the structures with polymers, proteins, or lipid bilayers. Taken together, these approaches greatly expand the chemical diversity and future applicability of DNA nanotechnology both in vitro and in vivo.