Functional nucleic acid-based cell imaging and manipulation

Cells are the basic structural and functional units of organisms. Dynamic analysis and manipulation of specific components in living cells would provide valuable information for the study of related biological processes. Advances in fluorescence microscopy have allowed real-time monitoring of biological events at the molecular level. Meanwhile, the development of high-performance fluorescence probes has become a critical issue. Functional nucleic acids (FNAs) are oligonucleotides with special chemical and biological functions, and aptamers with excellent molecular recognition capability are one of the most important representatives. They have attracted extensive attention in the field of live-cell study, owing to intrinsic advantages of simple synthesis, convenient modification, low immunogenicity and high programmability. This review focuses on recent research progress in fluorescence imaging and manipulation of cells using FNAs, particularly aptamers, as the molecular tools. Finally, a summary is provided and the related challenges are discussed.