Environment-Recognizing DNA-Computation Circuits for the Intracellular Transport of Molecular Payloads for mRNA Imaging

Abstract

Programming intelligent DNA nanocarriers for the targeted transport of molecular payloads in living cells has attracted extensive attention. In vivo activation of these nanocarriers usually relies on external light irradiation. An interest is emerging in the automatic recognition of intracellular surroundings by nanocarriers and their in situ activation under the control of programmed DNA-computation circuits. Herein, we report the integration of DNA circuits with framework nucleic acid (FNA) nanocarriers that consist of a truncated square pyramid (TSP) cage and a built-in duplex cargo containing an antisense strand of the target mRNA. An i-motif and ATP aptamer embedded in the TSP are employed as logic-controlling units to respond to H⁺ and ATP inside cellular compartments, triggering the release of the sensing element for fluorescent mRNA imaging. Logic-controlled FNA devices could be used to target drug delivery, enabling precise disease treatment.

Keywords: DNA computation; DNA nanotechnology; DNA structures; framework nucleic acids; mRNA imaging.