Orthogonal Control of Nucleic Acid Function via Chemical Caging‐Decaging Strategies

The ability to precisely control the function of nucleic acids plays an important role in biosensing and biomedicine. In recent years, novel strategies employing biological, physical, and chemical triggers have been developed to modulate the function of nucleic acids spatiotemporally. These approaches commonly involve the incorporation of stimuli-responsive groups onto nucleic acids to block their functions until triggers-induced decaging restore activity. These inventive strategies deepen our comprehension of nucleic acid molecules' dynamic behavior and provide new techniques for precise disease diagnosis and treatment. Focusing on the spatiotemporal regulation of nucleic acid molecules through the chemical caging-decaging strategy, we here present an overview of the innovative triggered control mechanisms and accentuate their implications across the fields of chemical biology, biomedicine, and biosensing.