Development of DNA Based Active Macro– Materials for Biology and Medicine

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DNA was first discovered as the carrier of genetic information for the majority of the known living organisms, encoding the secret of life. Its delicate design based upon double helical structure and base pairing offers a stable and reliable media for storing hereditary codes, laying the foundation for the central dogma. The impact of this molecule is far reaching into scientific community and our society, as manifested in many fields, for instance, forensics, besides medicine. To date, a great deal of research effort has been directed towards understanding DNA’s role in maintenance and expression of genome, and in the application of this understanding to biology and medicine, which is partly fueled by the market needs (e.g., DNA sequencer equipment market alone is expected to reach million by 2010. For reviews on the development in this area, especially using DNA or RNA per se as therapeutic reagents in applications such as gene therapies, one is referred to a large number of reports.

While this remains the center of the attention with the emergence of new subjects of knowledge including genetics and genomics, recent decades have witnessed increased interest in using DNA as structural components or guiding tools in developing novel materials thanks to DNA’s many unique features. Among these features are its molecular recognition with only four bases (specificity and simplicity), stable structure held by stacking H-bonds and other weak forces and interactions (stability), and the ease in breaking of base-pairs and thus separating strands allowing modification different than covalent-bond based structures (reversibility and flexibility). These attributes of DNA give rise to many favorable properties of DNA based macromaterials that are having and will have a wide range of applications. In synthesizing and constructing these DNA based structures, DNA has been used to provide template versatile linkages in the network, and aid in the fabrication of the nano-, micro-, and macro-materials this is also of interest to the community of synthetic chemistry.

The scope of the current and potential applications of DNA based materials ranges from DNA based electronics and computing to novel material design. The similar interest in using other three major types of macromolecules, namely, protein, lipids, carbohydrates, as structural component for synthetic materials is also increasing. For reviews in this regard particularly those on DNA based nanomaterials, readers are referred to the latest and comprehensive reviews by Seaman, Lu  and others. The focus of this review is the macroscopic materials designed, synthesized, and applied based on or inspired by DNA and the application of these materials specifically for biology and medicine. Changes in the nanoscale structures can trigger macroscopic changes in the materials. For these macro-materials, incorporation of DNA into the structural design confers a number of possibilities that would otherwise not be feasible. For instance, DNA imparts temperature dependent mechanical properties to structures crosslinked by them, and unique aptamer interactions make possible phase transition at room temperature.

Thanks & Regards,
Nicola B
Editorial Team
Journal of Biochemistry & Biotechnology