# RNA-Activated CRISPR/Cas12a Nanorobots Operating in Living Cells

*PRI Rank #20 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited CRISPR and Genetic Engineering Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/crispr-and-genetic-engineering/2026/rank-20*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #20 |
| 18m citations | 70 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1021/jacs.4c02354 |
| Corresponding authors | Hanyong Peng |
| Institution | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited CRISPR and Genetic Engineering Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/crispr-and-genetic-engineering/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1021/jacs.4c02354](https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c02354)

## Topics

Cas12a · RNA activation · Trans-cleavage activity · cis-cleavage activity · crRNA · collateral cleavage · CRISPR nanorobots · Gold nanoparticle · microRNA detection · living cell imaging · multiple-turnover cleavage · Fluorescence signal amplification · local effective concentration · trans-cleavage kinetics · nucleic acid substrates · real-time imaging · intracellular biosensing

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited CRISPR and Genetic Engineering Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/crispr-and-genetic-engineering/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```