Shattering kinetic constraints: hierarchically activatable DNAzyme nanoantennas for in situ mRNA imaging and precise cancer theranostics. (PubMed, Biosens Bioelectron)
Once encountering cancer cells, hairpin 1 (H1) recognizes the nucleolin via an aptamer AS1411, and meanwhile the i-motif in H1 undergoes structure switching at extracellular acid pH, enabling the cross-opening of H2, H3, H4, H5 for in situ self-assembly of two-sided DNAzyme nanoantennas...It can profile Egr-1 mRNA level in diverse human cells, and distinguish Egr-1 mRNA level in breast cancer tissues and healthy counterparts. Moreover, it can be applied for high-contrast imaging of Egr-1 mRNA in vivo, efficient gene silencing, and enhanced tumor ablation, with promising applications in smart gene therapeutics and precise nanomedicines.