International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine

Welcome!

Welcome to the ISRNN website, 

RNA nanotechnology is the bottom-up self-assembly of nanometer-scale architectures made exclusively of RNA and its chemical analogs.  This is a growing field with remarkable and continuous progression for more than two decades. The field of RNA nanotechnology is derived from the knowledge gained from many years of dedicated work by the members of the scientific community. The fundamental properties of RNA revealed by this research have been a driving force for the development of RNA nanotechnology.  These properties include RNA dynamics, unique physicochemical parameters of RNA, expanded tools for 3D computation, pseudoknot formation and ability for non-canonical base pairings, induced fit, conformational capture, near-neighbor creed, strand breathing, etc.  Many RNA scientists who contributed to better understanding and development of these principles have come together to become the core of the ISRNN.

RNA can be designed and manipulated with a level of simplicity similar to DNA while displaying versatile structure and enzymatic function attributed to proteins. RNA folds into a large variety of structural and long-range interacting motifs for intra- and inter-molecular interactions that lead to the formation of functional structures. Thanks to the collective effort of the RNA community, the concern of RNA instability in nanotechnology and biomedical applications has now been well addressed. RNA nanoarchitectures are stretchable and shrinkable through multiple repeats like rubber, leading to an unusually high tumor targeting efficiency since their rubber- or amoeba-like deformability enables them to squeeze through leaky vasculature.  As they are made from a naturally occurring and ubiquitous biopolymer, RNA nanoparticles remain non-toxic and can be rapidly cleared from the body via renal excretion with little accumulation in organs and tissues in vivo.  RNA is negatively charged, which prevents nonspecific binding to negatively charged cell membranes and further internalization which avoids undesired immune responses. The ultra-high thermodynamic stability of RNA makes it possible to serve as material for logic gates, resistive memory, sensor operations, and NEM devices.

The purpose of this society is to promote information exchange, enhance collaboration, and trigger the generation of new findings in the field of RNA nanotechnology. It was predicted many years ago that RNA therapeutics would be the third milestone in drug development, and the recent approval of several RNA drugs by the FDA and the broad application of the Covid mRNA vaccine has ushered in the spring of RNA nanotechnology and RNA therapeutics. Extension of current application areas, exponential increase in the number of published articles, and the launching of dedicated new journals in the RNA and RNAi fields are solid evidence of this advancement.  The application of RNA nanoparticles (NPs) in drug delivery especially for the treatment of various cancers has uplifted the popularity of RNA nanotechnology.

Peixuan Guo, ISRNN President

Kirill Afonin, ISRNN Vice President

 

Featured
Biomotors, viral assembly, and RNA nanobiotechnology: Current achievements and future directions
Biomotors, viral assembly, and RNA nanobiotechnology: Current achievements and future directions

The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN) serves to further the development of a wide variety of functional nucleic acids and other related nanotechnology platforms. To aid in the dissemination of the most recent advancements, a biennial discussion focused on biomotors, viral assembly, and RNA nanobiotechnology has been established where international experts in interdisciplinary fields such as structural biology, biophysical chemistry, nanotechnology, cell and cancer biology, and pharmacology share their latest accomplishments and future perspectives. The results summarized here highlight advancements in our understanding of viral biology and the structure–function relationship of frame-shifting elements in genomic viral RNA, improvements in the predictions of SHAPE analysis of 3D RNA structures, and the understanding of dynamic RNA structures through a variety of experimental and computational means. Additionally, recent advances in the drug delivery, vaccine design, nanopore technologies, biomotor and biomachine development, DNA packaging, RNA nanotechnology, and drug delivery are included in this critical review. We emphasize some of the novel accomplishments, major discussion topics, and present current challenges and perspectives of these emerging fields.  2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN): The Present and Future of the Burgeoning Field
The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN): The Present and Future of the Burgeoning Field

The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN) hosts an annual meeting series focused on presenting the latest research achievements involving RNA-based therapeutics and strategies, aiming to expand their current biomedical applications while overcoming the remaining challenges of the burgeoning field of RNA nanotechnology. The most recent online meeting hosted a series of engaging talks and discussions from an international cohort of leading nanotechnologists that focused on RNA modifications and modulation, dynamic RNA structures, overcoming delivery limitations using a variety of innovative platforms and approaches, and addressing the newly explored potential for immunomodulation with programmable nucleic acid nanoparticles. In this Nano Focus, we summarize the main discussion points, conclusions, and future directions identified during this two-day webinar as well as more recent advances to highlight and to accelerate this exciting field.