V. Erdmann – DNA and RNA Nanobiotechnologies in Medicine (2013)

Автор: V. Erdmann
Название книги: DNA and RNA Nanobiotechnologies in Medicine
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Биологические науки
Страницы: 464
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

This book will provide latest insights in the functional potentials of ribonucleic acids in medine and the use of Spiegelmer and Spiegelzyme systems. It will also deal with a new type of delivery systems for cellular targeting.

This year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the doublehelical
structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. That discovery revolutionized our
thinking in just about every aspect in which we are looking now at the living world.
Although the four different bases of DNA are basically simple compounds, enormous
complexity can be generated by using them in nucleic acid sequences. The
letters of DNA, along with their RNA cousins, are the secret of the code for all life,
as we know it today.
At the current stage of research, new nucleic acids are emerging as a class of
compounds that exhibit very exciting properties, which are much different from
those used for their biological functions in nature. These new developments,
partially summarized in this volume, are based upon the great structural diversity
inherited in nucleic acid molecules. Using DNA and RNA sequences, most diverse
structural elements can be designed and build with very intriguing functional
potentials. This new and very rapidly developing branch of the biological sciences
has been named “nanobiotechnology.”
Nanobiotechnology can be defined as the research and technology development
at the atomic, molecular, and macromolecular level, in which structures or devices
are constructed at the size range of 1–100 nm.
In the last 20 years, molecular biologists and engineers turned to introduce
nanotechnology approaches into the fields of biomedicine. The new scientific
discipline has gone from fantasy to reality. The novel properties of the
nanomaterials provide a large number of potentials to use them as highly specific
carriers for medications to specific organs and cells of a patient. For example,
clearly, newly, and badly needed applications are envisioned to use nanoparticles
for the specific targeting of tumor cells, and examples given in this volume allow us
to look with great optimism into the future.
Nanobiotechnology will offer doctors new ways to diagnose and treat patients,
boosting efficiency and slashing costs.
One of the most exciting developments in nanobiotechnology is represented by
the DNA origami techniques. These techniques have been used to create 2D and 3D
nanostructures of large diversity and complexity. But in addition other non-nucleic
acid nanoparticles, such as polymeric, inorganic, polyplexes, quantum dots, and
carbon nanotubes, are being developed and they are also very promising for the
intracellular delivery of anticancer drugs, biomolecules, and cellular activity
regulators. These multifunctional constructs are based on specific properties of
nanostructures such as shape, surface functionality, ability to move throughout
the body, and specificity. Recently, also lipid-based nanoparticles have gained an
increased interest, because of their favorable biologic properties and suitable
methods for their large-scale synthesis.
The chapters in this book focus on the application of nanobiotechnology in
cancer applications and discuss the newest developments to reach these goals.
The papers describe the synthesis of various nucleic acid-based nanoparticles and
devices intended for the delivery of special DNA and RNA drugs, as well as other
pharmaceuticals. Antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, and short interference
RNAs are very important in view of nucleic acid therapeutics. The introduction
of fluorescent labels into RNA strands is very important for the studies of the
complex biological functions of RNAs, even in the living cells. Thus, it becomes
clear that the successful application of nucleic acids in molecular medicine will
very heavily depend on the design and chemical synthesis of all different kinds of
DNA and RNA nanoparticles. The contributions made in this volume illustrate the
current status of these developments and permit the reader to look into the future of
this fast developing field.