Principles of the design of nanostructures with nucleic acid molecules as building blocks

The review covers two known strategies for the design of nanostructures based on liquid-crystalline dispersions of double-stranded nucleic acids: the ′entropy' condensation of nucleic acids and the ′enthalpy' condensation of nucleic acid–polycation complexes. Examples of the design of nanostructures based on DNA molecules and DNA–chitosan complexes are given. The unique properties of nanostructures dictating the scope of their practical application are described.