基于功能核酸的细胞荧光成像

Functional Nucleic Acid-Based Fluorescence Cell Imaging

细胞是生物体基本的结构和功能单元,对活细胞中特定生物组分进行动态分析,将为相关生命活动过程的研究提供重要信息。荧光成像为细胞分析提供了一种操作简单、灵敏度高、可实时监测细胞微观动态分子过程的光学生物成像技术。发展高性能的荧光探针用于活细胞成像已成为研究热点。功能核酸是一类具有特殊化学和生物学功能的寡核苷酸分子,除了天然存在的核酶(Ribozyme)和核糖开关(Riboswitch)之外,还包括通过指数富集的配体系统进化技术(SELEX)筛选获得的核酸适体和脱氧核酶(DNAzyme)。功能核酸由于具有合成简单、免疫原性低、相对分子质量小、化学稳定性高、易于修饰等优点,在生物成像领域受到广泛关注。本文主要综述了基于功能核酸的荧光探针在细胞成像领域中的应用研究,总结了该领域面临的挑战,并对其未来发展方向进行了展望。

Cell is the structural and functional unit of organisms. Studying the spatiotemporal distribution and activity of specific biomolecules in living cells would provide valuable information in understanding various biological processes. Fluorescence imaging technology has showed great potential for live-cell imaging. On the other hand, development of high-performance fluorescent probes has become a major bottleneck in this field. Functional nucleic acids(FNAs) are a class of oligonucleotides with specific chemical and/or biological functions, including natural ribozymes and riboswitches, as well as aptamers and DNAzymes screened through the SELEX(systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) technique. Taking advantages of simple synthesis, low immunogenicity, small size, high chemical stability, easy modification, FNAs have received extensive attention in the fields of bio-analysis and bio-imaging. This review summarizes the recent applications of FNA in fluorescence cell imaging, and points out the challenges and future prospects in this field.