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ABSTRACT
Introduction
DNA nanostructures targeting organelles are of great significance for the early diagnosis and precise therapy of human cancers. This review is expected to promote the development of DNA nanostructure-based cancer treatment with organelle-level precision in the future.
Areas covered
In this review, we introduce the different principles for targeting organelles, summarize the progresses in the development of organelle-targeting DNA nanostructures, highlight their advantages and applications in disease treatment, and discuss current challenges and future prospects.
Expert opinion
Accurate targeting is a basic problem for effective cancer treatment. However, current DNA nanostructures cannot meet the actual needs. Targeting specific organelles is expected to further improve the therapeutic effect and overcome tumor cell resistance, thereby holding great practical significance for tumor treatment in the clinic. With the deepening of the research on the molecular mechanism of disease development, especially on tumorigenesis and tumor progression, and increasing understanding of the behavior of biological materials in living cells, more versatile DNA nanostructures will be constructed to target subcellular organelles for drug delivery, essentially promoting the early diagnosis of cancers, classification, precise therapy and the estimation of prognosis in the future.
Article highlights
DNA nanostructures are nanometer scale biological materials that can be designed to organize variety of functional species due to the advantages of spatial addressability and programmability.
Organelle targeting DNA nanostructures are of great importance in subcellular imaging and transportation of therapeutic agents into the intended destination.
The efforts on organelle targeting DNA nanostructures focus on the precise targeting of nucleuses, mitochondria, ribosomes and lysosomes, and thus various organelle-targeting ligands are developed.
The review presents the fundamentals of organelle targeting, summarize the recent advances in the development of relevant DNA nanostructures and innovative assembly strategies and discusses their applications in cellular imaging, targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
Reviewer disclosures
Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.