ABSTRACT
DNA, also known as deoxyribonucleic acid, is best known for its role as the carrier of genetic information in living organisms. Recently, however, the field of DNA nanotechnology has propelled DNA as a material to engineer highly sophisticated nanotechnological tools. With its high programmability and versatility, DNA sequences can be selected to bind a wide variety of molecules and engineered to undergo conformational change in response to this molecule (or other chemical stimuli) to trigger specific function or activity. Throughout this chapter, we will explain how to engineer DNA switches with various functional outputs that can be triggered by specific input. We provide various examples illustrating the high programmability of DNA switches and their applications ranging from biosensing to drug delivery. We conclude with a short perspective on this exciting emerging field.
