Expanding nucleic acid functionality through conjugation, remote activation, and synthetic cell engineering

“Where we hope this work can go next is toward applications such as drug release.”Jokūbas Leikauskas, Editor, BioInsights, speaks to Michael Booth, Associate Professor of Chemical Biology and Organic Chemistry, UCL, about how nucleic acid conjugation can expand the functional capabilities of DNA and RNA, enabling precise control over their activity, localization, and delivery in therapeutic contexts. They also discuss how these strategies are being applied in synthetic cells and cell-free systems to remotely control biological processes and enable communication between synthetic and living systems.