Nucleic Acids as Biotools at the Interface between Chemistry and Nanomedicine in the COVID-19 Era

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 8; p. 4359
• Main Authors: Borbone, Nicola, Piccialli, Ilaria, Falanga, Andrea Patrizia, Piccialli, Vincenzo, Roviello, Giovanni N, Oliviero, Giorgia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14-04-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Adenoviruses; Antigens; antisense; Antisense therapy; Aptamers; Clinical trials; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; DNA; Drug dosages; Genomes; Humans; Lipids; mRNA; mRNA vaccines; Nanomedicine; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; nucleic acid analogs; Nucleic acids; Nucleic Acids - therapeutic use; oligonucleotides; Oligonucleotides - chemistry; Oligonucleotides - therapeutic use; Pharmaceutical industry; Prophylaxis; Proteins; Review; RNA; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vectors (Biology); India; COVID-19; RNA; DNA; mRNA vaccines; nanomedicine; nucleic acid analogs; oligonucleotides; antigene; antisense
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084359

The recent development of mRNA vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 infection has turned the spotlight on the potential of nucleic acids as innovative prophylactic agents and as diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Until now, their use has been severely limited by their reduced half-life in the biological environment and the difficulties related to their transport to target cells. These limiting aspects can now be overcome by resorting to chemical modifications in the drug and using appropriate nanocarriers, respectively. Oligonucleotides can interact with complementary sequences of nucleic acid targets, forming stable complexes and determining their loss of function. An alternative strategy uses nucleic acid aptamers that, like the antibodies, bind to specific proteins to modulate their activity. In this review, the authors will examine the recent literature on nucleic acids-based strategies in the COVID-19 era, focusing the attention on their applications for the prophylaxis of COVID-19, but also on antisense- and aptamer-based strategies directed to the diagnosis and therapy of the coronavirus pandemic.