Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 1035-1044.doi: 10.1007/s40242-026-6077-1

• Review Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

DNA-guided Fabrication of Inorganic Nanomaterials and Their Applications

GUO Xinqing1,2, LI Na1,2, DING Baoquan1,2,3   

  1. 1. Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China;
    3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, P. R. China
  • Received:2026-03-24 Revised:2026-05-06 Online:2026-08-01 Published:2026-07-28
  • Contact: LI Na,E-mail:lin@nanoctr.cn;DING Baoquan,E-mail:dingbq@nanoctr.cn E-mail:lin@nanoctr.cn;dingbq@nanoctr.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22588301, 22025201 and 22472041), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFA1200302), and the CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research, China (No. YSBR-036).

Abstract: DNA molecules and their nanostructures possess extraordinary programmability that facilitates guiding the synthesis of nanomaterials and assembly of nanoparticles in a controlled manner. The resulting products have unique advantages in many innovative and promising applications. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on DNA-guided fabrication of inorganic nanomaterials. We will introduce the representative work using DNA molecule or DNA nanostructure as templates to guide the synthesis of nanomaterials and the assembly of nanoparticles. In addition, the optical and biological applications of inorganic nanomaterials fabricated by DNA in recent years will be discussed in the following part. Finally, we will provide our views on future challenges and prospects in this field in the conclusion section.

Key words: DNA nanotechnology, Inorganic nanomaterial, Optical property, Biological application