Technology
Background
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. There are still unmet needs for an intra-cellularly targeted drug delivery system. The emerging platform of RNA Nanotechnology has great promise to improve drug delivery strategies for cancer treatment.
RNA nanotechnology using thermodynamically stable core structure with chemical modifications can overcome conventional cancer therapeutics limitations, provide more specific therapeutic siRNA, miRNA and chemical drug delivery with significantly reduced toxicity and side effects.
Proof-of-concept of RNA Nanotechnology in 1998
The RNA Nanotechnology field is relatively new. The first evidenceÂ
showing that RNA Nanoparticles can be constructed using re-engineered  RNA molecules by controlled self-assembly was reported in 1998, a study led by Professor Peixuan Guo.
Milestone 1: Chemical modification improved RNA’s chemical stability
Milestone 2:Â Thermodynamically stable RNA three-way junction was discovered
Milestone 3:Â Industrialization of RNA to overcome the barricade of low yield and high cost
Milestone 4:Â To be evidenced!
References
Pi F, Binzel D, Lee TJ, …
Shu D, Shu Y, Haque F, … Guo P. Thermodynamically stable RNA three-way junction for constructing multifunctional nanoparticles for delivery of therapeutics. Nature Nanotechnology 2011;6(10):658-67. [link]
Guo P. The emerging field of RNA nanotechnology. Nature Nanotechnology. 2010;5:833. [link]