Hydrophobic Interaction: A Promising Driving Force for the Biomedical Applications of Nucleic Acids

• Published in: Advanced science Vol. 7; no. 16
• Main Authors: Xiao, Fan, Chen, Zhe, Wei, Zixiang, Tian, Leilei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Aqueous solutions; Biomedical materials; biomedicine; Biosensors; Cancer therapies; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; functional nucleic acids; Gene expression; hydrophobic interactions; Ligands; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Permeability; Polymers; Proteins; Review; Signal transduction
• ISSN: 2198-3844; 2198-3844
• DOI: 10.1002/advs.202001048

The comprehensive understanding and proper use of supramolecular interactions have become critical for the development of functional materials, and so is the biomedical application of nucleic acids (NAs). Relatively rare attention has been paid to hydrophobic interaction compared with hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction of NAs. However, hydrophobic interaction shows some unique properties, such as high tunability for application interest, minimal effect on NA functionality, and sensitivity to external stimuli. Therefore, the widespread use of hydrophobic interaction has promoted the evolution of NA‐based biomaterials in higher‐order self‐assembly, drug/gene‐delivery systems, and stimuli‐responsive systems. Herein, the recent progress of NA‐based biomaterials whose fabrications or properties are highly determined by hydrophobic interactions is summarized. 1) The hydrophobic interaction of NA itself comes from the accumulation of base‐stacking forces, by which the NAs with certain base compositions and chain lengths show properties similar to thermal‐responsive polymers. 2) In conjugation with hydrophobic molecules, NA amphiphiles show interesting self‐assembly structures with unique properties in many new biosensing and therapeutic strategies. 3) The working‐mechanisms of some NA‐based complex materials are also dependent on hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, in recent attempts, NA amphiphiles have been applied in organizing macroscopic self‐assembly of DNA origami and controlling the cell–cell interactions.
Herein, recent advances in nucleic acid‐based biomaterials whose fabrications or properties are highly dependent on hydrophobic interactions are summarized. Such biomaterials exhibit emerging properties, such as diversified functionalities, more sensitive stimuli‐responsiveness, and hierarchical self‐assembly capability, which determines that hydrophobic interaction will become a potent tool in the design of nucleic acid‐based biomaterials in the future.