DNA, a genetic material, has been employed in different scientific directions for various biological applications as driven by DNA nanotechnology in the past decades, including tissue regeneration, disease prevention, inflammation inhibition, bioimaging, biosensing, diagnosis, antitumor drug delivery, and therapeutics. With the rapid progress in DNA nanotechnology, multitudinous DNA nanomaterials have been designed with different shape and size based on the classic Watson–Crick base-pairing for molecular self-assembly. Some DNA materials could functionally change cell biological behaviors, such as cell migration, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, autophagy, and anti-inflammatory effects. Some single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) or RNAs with secondary structures via self-pairing, named aptamer, possess the ability of targeting, which are selected by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) and applied for tumor targeted diagnosis and treatment. Some DNA nanomaterials with three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures and stable structures are investigated as drug carrier systems to delivery multiple antitumor medicine or gene therapeutic agents. While the functional DNA nanostructures have promoted the development of the DNA nanotechnology with innovative designs and preparation strategies, and also proved with great potential in the biological and medical use, there is still a long way to go for the eventual application of DNA materials in real life. Here in this review, we conducted a comprehensive survey of the structural development history of various DNA nanomaterials, introduced the principles of different DNA nanomaterials, summarized their biological applications in different fields, and discussed the current challenges and further directions that could help to achieve their applications in the future.

DNA 作为一种遗传物质，在过去几十年的推动下，在 DNA 纳米技术的推动下，被用于不同的科学方向，用于各种生物学应用，包括组织再生、疾病预防、炎症抑制、生物成像、生物传感、诊断、抗肿瘤药物输送和治疗。随着 DNA 纳米技术的快速发展，基于经典的 Watson-Crick 碱基配对用于分子自组装，已经设计出具有不同形状和大小的众多 DNA 纳米材料。一些DNA材料可以在功能上改变细胞生物学行为，例如细胞迁移、细胞增殖、细胞分化、自噬和抗炎作用。一些单链 DNA (ssDNA) 或 RNA 通过自配对具有二级结构，称为适配体，具有靶向能力，通过指数富集（SELEX）配体的系统进化筛选，应用于肿瘤靶向诊断和治疗。一些具有三维 (3D) 纳米结构和稳定结构的 DNA 纳米材料被研究作为药物载体系统来递送多种抗肿瘤药物或基因治疗剂。虽然功能性DNA纳米结构以创新的设计和制备策略推动了DNA纳米技术的发展，也证明了其在生物学和医学上的巨大潜力，但DNA材料最终真正应用还有很长的路要走。生活。在这篇综述中，我们对各种DNA纳米材料的结构发展历史进行了全面的梳理，介绍了不同DNA纳米材料的原理，