Biointerface Engineering with Nucleic Acid Materials for Biosensing Applications

Molecular recognition at the biointerface plays a critical role in sensing molecular interactions (e.g., DNA hybridization) and extracellular changes, which can directly affect the detection performance of biosensors (e.g., sensitivity, specificity, and response dynamics). However, conventional sensing biointerfaces show low molecular recognition efficiency due to limited target accessibility. Engineering sensing biointerfaces to regulate the orientation, spacing, and density of surface-confined molecular probes offer an effective approach to improve molecular recognition at interfaces. Over the last decades, biointerface engineering with nucleic acid materials has advanced the fundamental understanding of DNA hybridization kinetics and facilitated the design of improved biosensing platforms for monitoring cellular activities and diagnosing relevant diseases. This review summarizes the recent progress in nucleic acid-based biointerface engineering. The development of nucleic acid materials that can be applied to specific diagnostic applications is briefly introduced. Then the roles of nucleic acids in tailoring the properties of nanosurfaces, cell surfaces, and macroscopic surfaces are discussed and their biosensing applications are comprehensively highlighted. Finally, future challenges and perspectives of emerging technologies and applications in the field are presented.