Pathological features of diseases are typically accompanied with certain upregulated biomarkers,such as ions,nucleic acids,small molecules and proteins.Highly sensitive detecting tools with acceptable compatibility ar...Pathological features of diseases are typically accompanied with certain upregulated biomarkers,such as ions,nucleic acids,small molecules and proteins.Highly sensitive detecting tools with acceptable compatibility are of paramount importance for the precise diagnose of diseases.However,the sensitivity,accuracy and biosafety of probes still remain a challenge,which persuade researchers to explore more applicable materials and platforms to address these issues.展开更多
DNA nanotechnology utilizes DNA double strands as building units for self-assembly of DNA nanostructures.The specific base-pairing interaction between DNA molecules is the basis of these assemblies.After decades of de...DNA nanotechnology utilizes DNA double strands as building units for self-assembly of DNA nanostructures.The specific base-pairing interaction between DNA molecules is the basis of these assemblies.After decades of development,this technology has been able to construct complex and programmable structures.With the increase in delicate nature and complexity of the synthesized nanostructures,a characterization technology that can observe these structures in three dimensions has become necessary,and developing such a technology is considerably challenging.DNA assemblies have been studied using different characterization methods including atomic force microscopy(AFM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).However,the three-dimensional(3D)DNA assemblies always collapse locally due to the dehydration during the drying process.Cryogenic electron microscopy(cryo-EM)can overcome the challenge by maintaining three-dimensional morphologies of the cryogenic samples and reconstruct the 3D models from cryogenic samples accordingly by collecting thousands of two-dimensional(2D)projection images,which can restore their original morphologies in solution.Here,we have reviewed several typical cases of 3D DNA-assemblies and highlighted the applications of cryo-EM in characterization of these assemblies.By comparing with some other characterization methods,we have shown how cryo-EM promoted the development of structural characterization in the field of DNA nanotechnology.展开更多
文摘Pathological features of diseases are typically accompanied with certain upregulated biomarkers,such as ions,nucleic acids,small molecules and proteins.Highly sensitive detecting tools with acceptable compatibility are of paramount importance for the precise diagnose of diseases.However,the sensitivity,accuracy and biosafety of probes still remain a challenge,which persuade researchers to explore more applicable materials and platforms to address these issues.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11835008,21971109,21834004)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFF0105000)+5 种基金the Special Project of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan National Independent Innovation Demonstration Area,China(Nos.2017GK2293,2018XK2303)the Jiangsu Youth Fund,China(No.BK20180337)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(No.14380151)the Program for Innovative Talents and Entre preneur in Jiangsu Province,China(No.l33181)the Shenzhen International Cooperation Research Project,China(No.GJHZ20180930090602235)the Nanjing Science and Technology Innovation Project for Oversea Scholars5 Merit Funding,China(No.133170).
文摘DNA nanotechnology utilizes DNA double strands as building units for self-assembly of DNA nanostructures.The specific base-pairing interaction between DNA molecules is the basis of these assemblies.After decades of development,this technology has been able to construct complex and programmable structures.With the increase in delicate nature and complexity of the synthesized nanostructures,a characterization technology that can observe these structures in three dimensions has become necessary,and developing such a technology is considerably challenging.DNA assemblies have been studied using different characterization methods including atomic force microscopy(AFM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).However,the three-dimensional(3D)DNA assemblies always collapse locally due to the dehydration during the drying process.Cryogenic electron microscopy(cryo-EM)can overcome the challenge by maintaining three-dimensional morphologies of the cryogenic samples and reconstruct the 3D models from cryogenic samples accordingly by collecting thousands of two-dimensional(2D)projection images,which can restore their original morphologies in solution.Here,we have reviewed several typical cases of 3D DNA-assemblies and highlighted the applications of cryo-EM in characterization of these assemblies.By comparing with some other characterization methods,we have shown how cryo-EM promoted the development of structural characterization in the field of DNA nanotechnology.
