The field of structural DNA nanotechnology applies the programmability of Watson-Crick base pairing to the construction of custom nanostructures that are prescribed by the sequence information encoded in DNA molecules. Precisely defined geometries, highly programmable molecular interactions, and outstanding biocompatibility make DNA nanostructures a new category of nanocarriers for drug delivery. Over the past decade, the potential of using DNA nanocarrier-based formulation for cancer therapy has been extensively explored with the successful implementation of various therapeutic strategies, both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, DNA nanocarriers can be encoded with complex instructions via sequence design, enabling therapeutic functions to be executed in a programmed, automatic manner. In this review, we summarize recent advances and discuss the challenges and opportunities in designer DNA nanostructure-enabled therapeutics.

结构DNA纳米技术领域将Watson-Crick碱基配对的可编程性应用于定制纳米结构的构建，该结构由DNA分子中编码的序列信息规定。精确定义的几何形状，高度可编程的分子相互作用以及出色的生物相容性使DNA纳米结构成为用于药物输送的新型纳米载体。在过去的十年中，使用基于DNA的纳米载体的制剂用于癌症治疗的潜在已经广泛地与成功执行的各种治疗策略探讨，二者在体外和体内。此外，DNA纳米载体可以通过序列设计以复杂的指令编码，从而能够以编程的自动方式执行治疗功能。在这篇综述中，我们总结了最近的进展，并讨论了由设计人员使用DNA纳米结构的治疗方法所面临的挑战和机遇。