Site-Specific Disulfide-Mediated Crosslinking of DNA Nanocubes for Enhanced Biological Applications.

The development of DNA nanotechnology has enabled the creation of diverse nanomaterials with significant potential in biological applications, such as sensing or drug delivery. From DNA origami to wireframe nanostructures, several strategies have been developed to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics into cells. However, these self-assembled structures suffer from poor stability in biological media due to low concentrations of divalent cations, degradation by nucleases, and thermal denaturation.

Complex Donuts: Small Variations in DNA Sequence Dictate Pathway Complexity in DNA Nanotoroids.

The formation of higher-order structures in natural biopolymers, such as polypeptides and nucleic acids, is governed by sequence specificity and monomer chemistry. Although nucleic acids can assemble into programmable nanostructures through base-pairing interactions, their chemical diversity is limited to four nucleobases. DNA amphiphiles overcome this limitation by introducing orthogonal interactions through non-nucleosidic modifications.

Photochemical Stabilization of Self-Assembled Spherical Nucleic Acids.

Oligonucleotide therapeutics, including antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA, offer promising avenues for modulating the expression of disease-associated proteins. However, challenges such as nuclease degradation, poor cellular uptake, and unspecific targeting hinder their application. To overcome these obstacles, spherical nucleic acids have emerged as versatile tools for nucleic acid delivery in biomedical applications.

Sequence-Defined DNA Polymers: New Tools for DNA Nanotechnology and Nucleic Acid Therapy.

Structural DNA nanotechnology offers a unique self-assembly toolbox to construct soft materials of arbitrary complexity, through bottom-up approaches including DNA origami, brick, wireframe, and tile-based assemblies. This toolbox can be expanded by incorporating interactions orthogonal to DNA base-pairing such as metal coordination, small molecule hydrogen bonding, π-stacking, fluorophilic interactions, or the hydrophobic effect. These interactions allow for hierarchical and long-range organization in DNA supramolecular assemblies through a DNA-minimal approach: the use of fewer unique DNA sequences to make complex structures.

DNA Hierarchical Superstructures from Micellar Units: Stiff Hydrogels and Anisotropic Nanofibers.

Supramolecular materials have been assembled using a wide range of interactions, including the hydrophobic effect, DNA base-pairing, and hydrogen bonding. Specifically, DNA amphiphiles with a hydrophobic building block self-assemble into diverse morphologies depending on the length and composition of both blocks. Herein, we take advantage of the orthogonality of different supramolecular interactions - the hydrophobic effect, Watson-Crick-Franklin base pairing and RNA kissing loops - to create hierarchical self-assemblies with controlled morphologies on both the nanometer and the micrometer scales.

Impact of the Core Chemistry of Self-Assembled Spherical Nucleic Acids on their In Vitro Fate.

Nucleic acid therapeutics (NATs), such as mRNA, small interfering RNA or antisense oligonucleotides are extremely efficient tools to modulate gene expression and tackle otherwise undruggable diseases. Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) can efficiently deliver small NATs to cells while protecting their payload from nucleases, and have improved biodistribution and muted immune activation. Self-assembled SNAs have emerged as nanostructures made from a single DNA-polymer conjugate with similar favorable properties as well as small molecule encapsulation.

Personalized risk predictor for acute cellular rejection in lung transplant using soluble CD31.

We evaluated the contribution of artificial intelligence in predicting the risk of acute cellular rejection (ACR) using early plasma levels of soluble CD31 (sCD31) in combination with recipient haematosis, which was measured by the ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional oxygen inspired (PaO/FiO) and respiratory SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) within 3 days of lung transplantation (LTx). CD31 is expressed on endothelial cells, leukocytes and platelets and acts as a "peace-maker" at the blood/vessel interface. Upon nonspecific activation, CD31 can be cleaved, released, and detected in the plasma (sCD31).

An Orthogonal Dynamic Covalent Chemistry Tool for Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Oligochalcogenides on Detachable Helical Peptide Templates.

A model system is introduced as a general tool to elaborate on orthogonal templation of dynamic covalent ring-opening polymerization (ODC-TROP). The tool consists of 3 helical peptides as unprecedented templates and semicarbazones as orthogonal dynamic covalent linkers. With difficult-to-control 1,2-dithiolanes, ODC-TROP on the level of short model oligomers occurs with high templation efficiency, increasing and diminishing upon helix stabilization and denaturation, respectively.

Dithiolane quartets: thiol-mediated uptake enables cytosolic delivery in deep tissue.

The cytosolic delivery of various substrates in 3D multicellular spheroids by thiol-mediated uptake is reported. This is important because most orthodox systems, including polycationic cell-penetrating peptides, fail to deliver efficiently into deep tissue. The grand principles of supramolecular chemistry, that is the pH dependence of dynamic covalent disulfide exchange with known thiols on the transferrin receptor, are proposed to account for transcytosis into deep tissue, while the known but elusive exchange cascades along the same or other partners assure cytosolic delivery in kinetic competition.

Prevalence, Characteristics and Preoperative Predictors of Chronic Pain After Double-Lung Transplantation: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Data on chronic pain after lung transplantation are heterogeneous. This study prospectively explored the prevalence, characteristics, consequences, and preoperative predictors of pain in lung transplant recipients.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Thiol-Mediated Uptake.

This Perspective focuses on thiol-mediated uptake, that is, the entry of substrates into cells enabled by oligochalcogenides or mimics, often disulfides, and inhibited by thiol-reactive agents. A short chronology from the initial observations in 1990 until today is followed by a summary of cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs) and cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs) as privileged scaffolds in thiol-mediated uptake and inhibitors of thiol-mediated uptake as potential antivirals. In the spirit of a Perspective, the main part brings together topics that possibly could help to explain how thiol-mediated uptake really works.

Oligonucleotide Phosphorothioates Enter Cells by Thiol-Mediated Uptake.

Oligonucleotide phosphorothioates (OPS) are DNA or RNA mimics where one phosphate oxygen is replaced by a sulfur atom. They have been shown to enter mammalian cells much more efficiently than non-modified DNA. Thus, solving one of the key challenges with oligonucleotide technology, OPS became very useful in practice, with several FDA-approved drugs on the market or in late clinical trials.

Development of Selective FXIa Inhibitors Based on Cyclic Peptides and Their Application for Safe Anticoagulation.

Coagulation factor XI (FXI) has emerged as a promising target for the development of safer anticoagulation drugs that limit the risk of severe and life-threatening bleeding. Herein, we report the first cyclic peptide-based FXI inhibitor that selectively and potently inhibits activated FXI (FXIa) in human and animal blood. The cyclic peptide inhibitor ( = 2.

Cell-Penetrating Streptavidin: A General Tool for Bifunctional Delivery with Spatiotemporal Control, Mediated by Transport Systems Such as Adaptive Benzopolysulfane Networks.

In this report, cell-penetrating streptavidin (CPS) is introduced to exploit the full power of streptavidin-biotin biotechnology in cellular uptake. For this purpose, transporters, here cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs), are covalently attached to lysines of wild-type streptavidin. This leaves all four biotin binding sites free for at least bifunctional delivery.

Probing for Thiol-Mediated Uptake into Bacteria.

Cellular uptake mediated by cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs) is emerging as a conceptually innovative method to penetrate mammalian cells. Their mode of action is based on dynamic covalent oligochalcogenide exchange with cellular thiols. To test thiol-mediated uptake in bacteria, five antibiotics have been equipped with up to three different COCs: One diselenolane and two dithiolanes.

Cellular Uptake Mediated by Cyclic Oligochalcogenides.

Cellular uptake is one of the central challenges in chemical biology and beyond. With the objective to find conceptually innovative ways to enter into cells, cyclic oligochalcogenides (COCs) are emerging as powerful tools. Increasing ring tension is shown to maximize speed and selectivity of dynamic covalent exchange chemistry on the way into cells.

Diselenolane-Mediated Cellular Uptake: Efficient Cytosolic Delivery of Probes, Peptides, Proteins, Artificial Metalloenzymes and Protein-Coated Quantum Dots.

Cyclic oligochalcogenides are emerging as powerful tools to penetrate cells. With disulfide ring tension maximized, selenium chemistry had to be explored next to enhance speed and selectivity of dynamic covalent exchange on the way into the cytosol. We show that diseleno lipoic acid (DiSeL) delivers a variety of relevant substrates.

Iron-mediated oxidative C-H coupling of arenes and alkenes directed by sulfur: an expedient route to dihydrobenzofurans.

A novel route to medicinally-relevant dihydrobenzofurans utilises a sulfur-directed C-H ortho-coupling of arenes and unactivated terminal alkenes mediated by iron, and a palladium-catalysed deallylation/heterocyclisation sequence. The iron-mediated coupling affords linear products of alkene chloroarylation in good yield and with complete regioselectivity. The coupling likely proceeds by redox-activation of the arene partner by iron(iii) and alkene addition to the resultant radical cation.