DNA nanotechnology in neural engineering: A perspective

Abstract

DNA nanotechnology has great potential as a platform to enhance neural engineering approaches. DNA based nanoparticles are biocompatible and easy to functionalize [1]. Peptides or proteins can be conjugated to DNA nanoparticles to target specific cells and tissues [2], [3], as well as imaging agents to help diagnosis and monitoring purposes [4], [5]. In addition, recent studies have shown the capacity of some DNA based nanoparticles to cross the blood-brain barrier to target brain tumors in rats [4]. Others have shown DNA-peptide nanoparticles that enhanced differentiation of neural stem cell proliferation and neural differentiation [6], as well as new technologies to construct DNA-based molecular circuitry [7]. Besides all of these promising features offered by DNA nanotechnology, DNA has also shown to be a great scaffold for the production of nanoelectronics, giving a realistic perspective of the creation of nano devices that can target a desired tissue or cell and perform as nanochips for diagnosis, sensing or modulatory functions. Therefore, this work reviews some of the characteristics of nanotechnology and DNA-based nanoelectronics that are favorable for the development of nanodevices as neural system probes, as well as some perspectives for this type of technology in the field of neural engineering.