Abstract Water pollution and the global spread of pathogens pose unexpected and considerable challenges to human and environmental health. Recent developments in DNA-based engineering systems show various real-world applications in ecosystem restoration, medical diagnostics, immune regulation, and drug delivery, providing new opportunities to address these challenges. DNA materials are essentially different from non-biological materials and act as a robust molecular building block with exceptional attributes; these attributes include its genetic function, biocompatibility, nanoscale controllability, programmability, and molecular recognition capability. Unlike traditional systems using separate strategies, the unique properties of DNA molecules enable their use as universal substrates to develop diverse engineering systems and offer a flexible solution concept to current challenges. Here, we outline principles and approaches for the use of three DNA-based engineering subsystems—DNA tracers, DNA barcodes, and DNA hydrogels—in improving human and environmental health in the context of pollution identification, pathogen detection, and medical treatment, with some discussion of typical examples to highlight the focus of current research and envision potential development direction. We believe that this review will contribute to the rational design of DNA-based tracer, barcode and hydrogel system, and the successful integration of these subsystems that are intrinsically interconnected will further demonstrate their synergistic effects on environmental remediation and medical care.

中文翻译：

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用于改善人类和环境健康的基于 DNA 的工程系统：识别、检测和治疗

摘要 水污染和病原体的全球传播给人类和环境健康带来了意想不到的重大挑战。基于 DNA 的工程系统的最新发展显示了生态系统恢复、医学诊断、免疫调节和药物输送等各种现实世界的应用，为应对这些挑战提供了新的机会。DNA 材料与非生物材料有本质区别，是具有特殊属性的强大分子构件；这些属性包括其遗传功能、生物相容性、纳米级可控性、可编程性和分子识别能力。与使用单独策略的传统系统不同，DNA 分子的独特性质使其可用作通用底物来开发不同的工程系统，并为当前的挑战提供灵活的解决方案概念。在这里，我们概述了使用三个基于 DNA 的工程子系统——DNA 示踪剂、DNA 条形码和 DNA 水凝胶——在污染识别、病原体检测和医疗的背景下改善人类和环境健康的原则和方法，其中一些典型事例讨论，突出当前研究的重点，展望潜在的发展方向。我们相信这篇综述将有助于合理设计基于 DNA 的示踪剂、条形码和水凝胶系统，