title: Novel DNA materials and their applications.
abstract: The last two decades have witnessed the exponential development of DNA as a generic material instead of just a genetic material. The biological function, nanoscale geometry, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and molecular recognition capacity of DNA make it a promising candidate for the construction of novel functional nanomaterials. As a result, DNA has been recognized as one of the most appealing and versatile nanomaterial building blocks. Scientists have used DNA in this way to construct various amazing nanostructures, such as ordered lattices, origami, supramolecular assemblies, and even three-dimensional objects. In addition, DNA has been utilized as a guide and template to direct the assembly of other nanomaterials including nanowires, free-standing membranes, and crystals. Furthermore, DNA can also be used as structural components to construct bulk materials such as DNA hydrogels, demonstrating its ability to behave as a unique polymer. Overall, these novel DNA materials have found applications in various areas in the biomedical field in general, and nanomedicine in particular. In this review, we summarize the development of DNA assemblies, describe the innovative progress of multifunctional and bulk DNA materials, and highlight some real-world nanomedical applications of these DNA materials. We also show our insights throughout this article for the future direction of DNA materials.
authors: Department of Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors: Dayong
authors: D
authors: Yang
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Campolongo
authors: Thua Nguyen
authors: TN
authors: Nhi Tran
authors: Roanna C H
authors: RC
authors: Ruiz
authors: Jason S
authors: JS
authors: Kahn
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Luo
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA