We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Review Stresses Biomedical Applications for Designed DNA Nanostructures

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 05 Oct 2015

Image: Virus-protein-coated DNA origami nanostructures. With the help of protein encapsulation, such nanostructures can be transported into human cells much more efficiently (Photo courtesy of Dr. Veikko Linko and Dr. Mauri Kostiainen, Aalto University).

Image: Virus-protein-coated DNA origami nanostructures. With the help of protein encapsulation, such nanostructures can be transported into human cells much more efficiently (Photo courtesy of Dr. Veikko Linko and Dr. Mauri Kostiainen, Aalto University).

A recent review article described how self-assembled DNA nanostructures could be used in molecular-scale diagnostics and as smart drug-delivery vehicles.

Investigators at Aalto University (Finland) described in the October 2015 issue of the journal Trends in Biotechnology how DNA molecules could be assembled into tailored and complex nanostructures, and how such structures could be used for bio-nanotechnological applications such as molecular diagnostics and targeted therapeutics.

The authors said that DNA molecules can be assembled into custom predesigned shapes via hybridization of sequence-complementary domains. The folded structures have high spatial addressability and tremendous potential to serve as platforms and active components in a plethora of bio-nanotechnological applications. They stressed that DNA is a truly programmable material, and its nanoscale engineering opens up numerous attractive possibilities to develop novel methods for therapeutics. Furthermore, tailored molecular devices could be used to target cells and trigger cellular actions in the biological environment.

"Nowadays, software and techniques to design and simulate DNA nanostructures are extremely powerful and user-friendly, and thus, researchers can easily construct their own DNA-objects for various uses. The big boom in the field of structural DNA nanotechnology happened in 2006, when Paul Rothemund introduced a technique dubbed "DNA origami". This method is the starting point for practically all other straightforward design approaches available today", said first author Dr. Veikko Linko, a postdoctoral researcher in biohybrid materials at Aalto University.

Related Links:
Aalto University

Visit expo >

Gold Member

Veterinary Hematology Analyzer

Exigo H400

Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS

New

Host Response Immunoassay Test

MeMed BV

New

Gold Member

Serological Pipets

INTEGRA Serological Pipets

DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Latest BioResearch News

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel

New Clinical Chemistry Analyzer Designed to Meet Growing Demands of Modern Labs

A new clinical chemistry analyzer is designed to provide outstanding performance and maximum efficiency, without compromising affordability, to meet the growing demands of modern laboratories.... Read more

Image: The new research involved using digital PCR as a reference method to standardize test results between laboratories (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

New Reference Measurement Procedure Standardizes Nucleic Acid Amplification Test Results

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) play a key role in diagnosing a wide range of infectious diseases. These tests are generally known for their high sensitivity and specificity, and they can be developed... Read more

Image: A pen-like tool collects molecules from the skin that can be screened for opioids (Photo courtesy of William Clarke/Johns Hopkins)

Pen-Like Tool Quickly and Non-Invasively Detects Opioids from Skin

Opioid drugs such as fentanyl, morphine, and oxycodone are the primary substances associated with overdose cases in the United States. Standard drug screening procedures typically involve collecting blood,... Read more

Image: The spectroscopy and AI-powered urine-based test detects 10 cancers (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Simple Urine Test Could Detect Multiple Cancers at Early Stage

When disease is present, the human body releases tiny molecules known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Now, a spectroscopy and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered urine-based test uses scent-based... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel

RNA-Seq Based Diagnostic Test Enhances Diagnostic Accuracy of Pediatric Leukemia

A new unique test is set to reshape the way Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BCP-ALL) samples can be analyzed. Qlucore (Lund, Sweden) has launched the first CE-marked RNA-seq based diagnostic test for pediatric... Read more

Image: Increased polysialic acid in schizophrenia patients represents a potential diagnostic tool and possible target for treatment (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Technique for Measuring Acidic Glycan in Blood Simplifies Schizophrenia Diagnosis

Polysialic acid is a unique acidic glycan predominantly found in brain regions associated with memory and emotion, but it is also present in the bloodstream. Research has shown that blood levels of polysialic... Read more

Image: A molecular footprint of injury opens the door to delivering diagnostics or therapies directly to the site (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Injury Molecular Fingerprint Enables Real-Time Diagnostics for On-Site Treatment

Trauma care often suffers from delays in identifying the precise location of injury and delivering targeted treatment, especially in emergency and battlefield settings. When medications are administered... Read more

Image: Researchers are developing a blood test that predicts the risk of secondary breast cancer (Photo courtesy of The University of Sheffield)

Blood Test Could Predict Likelihood of Breast Cancer Spreading to The Bone

When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it becomes secondary or metastatic breast cancer—a stage that, while treatable, is currently incurable. The bone is the most common site for this... Read more

Hematology

view channel

Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Image: The FINDER multifunctional testing platform can run multiple types of tests and deliver rapid results for near-patient use (Photo courtesy of Baebies)

First Point-of-Care Heparin Monitoring Test Provides Results in Under 15 Minutes

Heparin dosing requires careful management to avoid both bleeding and clotting complications. In high-risk situations like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), mortality rates can reach about 50%,... Read more

Image: The 3-parameter CCRS model was devised specifically for patients diagnosed with clonal cytopenia (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder

Clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) is a blood disorder commonly found in older adults, characterized by mutations in blood cells and a low blood count, but without any obvious cause or... Read more

Image: The technology has the unique ability to detect challenging RhD variants that are typically excluded by other commercial tests (Photo courtesy of BillionToOne)

Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Fetal RhD Status Demonstrates 100% Accuracy

In the United States, approximately 15% of pregnant individuals are RhD-negative. However, in about 40% of these cases, the fetus is also RhD-negative, making the administration of RhoGAM unnecessary.... Read more

Immunology

view channel

Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Image: Schematic overview of the deep learning-based circulating exosome analysis for lung cancer detection (Photo courtesy of Chuan Xu, Cheng Jiang)

Liquid Biopsy Approach to Transform Diagnosis, Monitoring and Treatment of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer continues to be a major contributor to cancer-related deaths globally, with its biological complexity and diverse regulatory processes making diagnosis and treatment particularly difficult.... Read more

Image: The new tool shines a light on elusive genomic patterns (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Computational Tool Exposes Hidden Cancer DNA Changes Influencing Treatment Resistance

Structural changes in tumor DNA are among the most damaging genetic alterations in cancer, yet they often go undetected, particularly when tissue samples are degraded or of low quality. These hidden genomic... Read more

Image: NGS can detect one tumor cell among a million healthy cells from a simple blood sample (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

New Tool Detects Breast Cancer Relapses Five Years in Advance

Relapse detection in patients with solid tumors—particularly hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer—remains a major clinical challenge, as many patients initially respond well to treatment but later... Read more

Microbiology

view channel

Image: Using viral load tests can help predict mpox severity when skin lesions first appear (Photo courtesy of Laiman Kana Ariga/Nagoya University)

Viral Load Tests Can Help Predict Mpox Severity

Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and a characteristic rash, which evolves significantly over time and varies between patients. The disease spreads mainly through direct contact with... Read more

Image: Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been linked to the onset and progression of gestational diabetes (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Gut Microbiota Analysis Enables Early and Non-Invasive Detection of Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder marked by abnormal glucose metabolism during pregnancy, typically emerging in the mid to late stages. It significantly heightens the risk of... Read more

Image: The new handheld TB testing device significantly improves disease detection in HIV patients (Photo courtesy of Vincent Postle/Tulane University)

Credit Card-Sized Test Boosts TB Detection in HIV Hotspots

Current tuberculosis (TB) tests face major limitations when it comes to accurately diagnosing the infection in individuals living with HIV. HIV, a frequent co-infection with TB, complicates detection by... Read more

Fecal Metabolite Profiling Predicts Mortality in Critically Ill Patients

Critically ill patients in medical intensive care units (MICUs) often suffer from conditions such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or sepsis, which are linked to reduced diversity of gut microbiota... Read more

Pathology

view channel

AI Performs Virtual Tissue Staining at Super-Resolution

Conventional histopathology, essential for diagnosing various diseases, typically involves chemically staining tissue samples to reveal cellular structures under a microscope. This process, known as “histochemical... Read more

AI-Driven Preliminary Testing for Pancreatic Cancer Enhances Prognosis

Pancreatic cancer poses a major global health threat due to its high mortality rate, with 467,409 deaths and 510,992 new cases reported worldwide in 2022. Often referred to as the "king" of all cancers,... Read more

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more

Image: The Aiforia Breast Cancer Grading AI solution is CE-IVD marked (Photo courtesy of Aiforia Technologies)

Clinical AI Solution for Automatic Breast Cancer Grading Improves Diagnostic Accuracy

Labs that use traditional image analysis methods often suffer from bottlenecks and delays. By digitizing their pathology practices, labs can streamline their work, allowing them to take on larger caseloads... Read more

Technology

view channel

Image: The electrochemical sensors consist of DNA adhered to an inexpensive gold leaf electrode (Photo courtesy of MIT)

Inexpensive DNA Coated Electrode Paves Way for Disposable Diagnostics

Many people around the world still lack access to affordable, easy-to-use diagnostics for diseases like cancer, HIV, and influenza. Conventional sensors, while accurate, often rely on expensive equipment... Read more

Image: The actual chip of human leukemia bone marrow where chambers and channels were filled with food dyes (Photo courtesy of Weiqiang Chen/NYU Tandon Applied Micro-Bioengineering Laboratory)

New Miniature Device to Transform Testing of Blood Cancer Treatments

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking treatment for blood cancers like leukemia, offering hope to patients when other treatments fail. However, despite its promise,... Read more

Image: Synthesis, optical, and electron microscopy characterization of magneto-plasmonic cryosorets (Photo courtesy of APL Mater. 13, 041103 (2025); doi.org/10.1063/5.0251312)

Biosensing Advancement to Enable Early Detection of Disease Biomarkers at POC

Traditional medical diagnostics often require clinical samples to be sent off-site, leading to time-consuming and costly processes. Point-of-care diagnostics offer a more efficient alternative, allowing... Read more

New POC Biosensing Technology Improves Detection of Molecular Biomarkers

Traditional diagnostic procedures in medicine typically involve sending a patient’s blood or tissue samples to clinical laboratories, where trained scientists perform testing and data interpretation.... Read more

Industry

view channel

Lunit and Microsoft Collaborate to Advance AI-Driven Cancer Diagnosis

Lunit (Seoul, South Korea) and Microsoft (Redmond, WA, USA) have entered into a collaboration to accelerate the delivery of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered healthcare solutions. In conjunction with... Read more

Image: The AMP’s best practice recommendations are for clinical laboratories developing and performing HRD testing (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AMP Releases Best Practice Recommendations to Guide Clinical Laboratories Offering HRD Testing

Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing identifies tumors that are unable to effectively repair DNA damage through the homologous recombination repair pathway. This deficiency is often linked... Read more

Image: Illumina’s acquisition of SomaLogic aims to strengthen its presence in the proteomics market (Photo courtesy of Illumina)

Illumina Acquires SomaLogic to Accelerate Proteomics Business

Illumina, Inc. (San Diego, CA, USA) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SomaLogic (Boulder, CO, USA), a leader in data-driven proteomics technology, and other specified assets for USD 350... Read more

Image: The new partnership aims to develop oncology assays for use on the QIAcuityDx platform (Photo courtesy of QIAGEN)

Qiagen and Gencurix Partner on Development of QIAcuity Digital PCR IVD Assay

QIAGEN (Venlo, Netherlands) and GENCURIX (Seoul, South Korea) have entered into a new partnership to develop oncology assays for use on the QIAcuityDx platform, a high-performance digital PCR system designed... Read more