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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Microinjection of Corn Planthopper, Peregrinus maidis, Embryos for CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
Published on: March 26, 2021
A Rationally Designed Semiconducting Polymer Brush for NIR-II Imaging-Guided Light-Triggered Remote Control of
Ling Li1,2, Zhen Yang2, Shoujun Zhu2
1Department of PET Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
Abstract:
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) genome-editing system has shown great potential in biomedical applications. Although physical approaches, viruses, and some nonviral vectors have been employed for CRISPR/Cas9 delivery and induce some promising genome-editing efficacy, precise genome editing remains challenging and has not been reported yet. Herein, second near-infrared window (NIR-II) imaging-guided NIR-light-triggered remote control of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing strategy is reported based on a rationally designed semiconducting polymer brush (SPPF). SPPF can not only be a vector to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 cassettes but also controls the endolysosomal escape and payloads release through photothermal conversion under laser irradiation. Upon laser exposure, the nanocomplex of SPPF and CRISPR/Cas9 cassettes induces effective site-specific precise genome editing both in vitro and in vivo with minimal toxicity. Besides, NIR-II imaging based on SPPF can also be applied to monitor the in vivo distribution of the genome-editing system and guide laser irradiation in real time. Thus, this study offers a typical paradigm for NIR-II imaging-guided NIR-light-triggered remote control of the CRISPR/Cas9 system for precise genome editing. This strategy may open an avenue for CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing-based precise gene therapy in the near future.
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