Nucleic acid conjugated nanomaterials for enhanced molecular recognition

Nucleic acids, whether designed or selected in vitro, play important roles in biosensing, medical diagnostics, and therapy. Specifically, the conjugation of functional nucleic acid based probe molecules and nanomaterials has resulted in an unprecedented improvement in the field of molecular recognition. With their unique physical and chemical properties, nanomaterials facilitate the sensing process and amplify the signal of recognition events. Thus, the coupling of nucleic acids with various nanomaterials opens up a promising future for molecular recognition. The literature offers a broad spectrum of recent advances in biosensing by employing different nanoplatforms with designed nucleic acids, especially gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, silica nanoparticles, and quantum dots. The advantages of these novel combinations are discussed from the perspective of molecular recognition in chemistry, biology, and medicine, along with the problems confronting future applications.