Geng Jinhui, Yao Chi, Kou Xiaohong, Tang Jianpu, Luo Dan, Yang Dayong
School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2018 Mar;7(5). doi: 10.1002/adhm.201700998. Epub 2017 Dec 27.
DNA has arisen as a promising building material for the construction of hydrogels owing to its unique properties such as designability and biocompatibility. All-DNA hydrogels with only DNA molecules may have limited applications; hence a composite DNA hydrogel with multifunctional moieties is highly desired to cater for specific applications. Herein, a multifunctional DNA hydrogel is created by incorporating DNA with silver nanoclusters (AgNCs), in which AgNCs render the hydrogel simultaneously with fluorescent and antibacterial functions. A circular DNA is rationally designed, which allows for the elongation of DNA chain via an enzymatic polymerization as well as the formation of AgNCs onto DNA scaffolds. The resultant hybrid DNA hydrogel not only shows distinctive morphology and mechanical properties, but also exhibits fluorescent and antibacterial functions. These characteristics, along with its biocompatibility, will allow the hydrogel to be suitable for a variety of potential biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, wound dressing, biosensing, and bioimaging.
由于DNA具有可设计性和生物相容性等独特性质，它已成为一种用于构建水凝胶的很有前景的建筑材料。仅由DNA分子构成的全DNA水凝胶可能应用有限；因此，非常需要具有多功能部分的复合DNA水凝胶以满足特定应用需求。在此，通过将DNA与银纳米簇（AgNCs）结合制备了一种多功能DNA水凝胶，其中AgNCs使水凝胶同时具有荧光和抗菌功能。合理设计了一种环状DNA，它既能通过酶促聚合使DNA链延长，又能在DNA支架上形成AgNCs。所得的杂化DNA水凝胶不仅具有独特的形态和机械性能，还表现出荧光和抗菌功能。这些特性以及其生物相容性，将使该水凝胶适用于多种潜在的生物医学应用，如组织工程、伤口敷料、生物传感和生物成像。
