Recent progress on DNA block copolymer

DNA has gained great attention because of its unique structure, excellent molecular recognition property, and biological functions. When married with versatile synthetic polymers, the DNA conjugated polymer hybrids, known as DNA block copolymers (DBCs), have been launched and well developed for the syntheses of new materials and nanostructures with different functions in the past several decades. Compared to conventional synthetic block copolymers, using DNA as a building block provides several advantages over other polymer candidates, such as molecular recognition, programmable self-assembly, biocompatibility, and sequence-encoded information. In this review, recent developments in this area will be summarized and meaningful breakthroughs will be highlighted. We will discuss representative examples of recent progress in the syntheses, structure manipulations, and applications of DBCs.