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  • Focus Review
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Enzyme-based fabrication of physical DNA hydrogels: new materials and applications

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 891–898 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Advancements in DNA nanotechnology and nanobioengineering allowed the use of DNA as a generic material, as well as a genetic material. Among various DNA-based materials, DNA hydrogels achieve a DNA-based network at the bulk scale. Notably, a recently developed enzyme-based fabrication method established a route to synthesize physically crosslinked networks from DNA. This new class of DNA networks paved the way for creating different forms of DNA materials by utilizing the characteristics of a biofunctional polymer. This Focus Review provides a brief overview of the enzyme-based fabrication method of physical DNA hydrogels and discusses the latest developments in technology and their applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) (RoL: EAGER: DESYN-C3: 1844310 and SNM-1530522).

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  1. Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Shogo Hamada & Dan Luo

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  1. Shogo Hamada
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Correspondence to Shogo Hamada or Dan Luo.

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Hamada, S., Luo, D. Enzyme-based fabrication of physical DNA hydrogels: new materials and applications. Polym J 52, 891–898 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-020-0340-y

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