ABSTRACT
The impact that ribonucleic acid (RNA) has had in the multi-disciplined field of nanotechnology is evident by the emergence of the subfield known as RNA nanotechnology or ribo-nanotechnology (Guo, 2010). Ribo-nanotechnology has been able to establish itself and stand on its own due to the unique structural and chemical properties of RNA. In many ways, RNA constitutes a satisfying compromise between the relatively simple self-assembling principles associated with DNA and the diverse structural and functional attributes of proteins. The development of RNA as a viable building block for nano-scale self-assembly has been facilitated by the atomic scale solution structures associated with large naturally occurring RNAs like the ribosome and the group I intron (Ban et al., 2000; Cate et al., 1996; Yusupov et al., 2001). Recently, the rapid emergence of RNA as an important tool for applications in the more focused fields of nanomedicine, and synthetic biology results from an increased appreciation of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) and their assorted biological roles (Eddy, 2001). In the past several decades molecular biology has revealed that RNAs function as carriers of information messenger RNA (mRNA), informational translators transfer RNA (tRNAs), enzymatic catalysts (ribozymes) (Cech et al., 1981; Nissen et al., 2000), structural elements (DsrA and GcvB) (Busi et al., 2009; Cayrol et al., 2009a, 2009b), processing guides (snoRNAs) (Steitz and Tycowski, 1995), allosteric sensors (riboswitches) (Winkler et al., 2002), as well as gene regulators (siRNAs and miRNAs) (Tuschl, 2001).
