Home > News > Nano-boxes from DNA origami
May 6th, 2009
Abstract:
Danish researchers have made a nano-sized box out of DNA that can be locked or opened in response to 'keys' made from short strands of DNA. By changing the nature or number of these keys, it should be possible to use the boxes as sensors, drug delivery systems or even molecular computers.
Jørgen Kjems, Kurt Gothelf and colleagues from Aarhus University, Denmark, have taken an existing technique known as 'DNA origami' into a whole new dimension. The technique traditionally uses a few hundred short DNA strands to staple longer DNA strands together to create two-dimensional nanostructures, usually building from a solid surface that supports the structures.
'But in this case you have things standing up,' says Kjems. 'And this makes the structures more fragile and much harder to image, so just to prove that you actually have your structure can be quite difficult,' he adds.
To make the box shape, the team took a long, circular single strand of DNA from a virus that infects bacteria called bacteriophage M13. This M13 sequence is a cheap source of single-stranded DNA and is convenient size for building with. To turn this ring of DNA into a box, the team used a computer to work out exactly the right combination of short strands of complementary DNA which could 'staple' the appropriate areas of the ring together to get the desired box shape. When they mixed the M13 strand with the 220 short 'staple strands' and heated them up for an hour, the boxes neatly self-assembled.
Source:
rsc.org
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024
Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Self Assembly
Diamond glitter: A play of colors with artificial DNA crystals May 17th, 2024
Liquid crystal templated chiral nanomaterials October 14th, 2022
Nanoclusters self-organize into centimeter-scale hierarchical assemblies April 22nd, 2022
Atom by atom: building precise smaller nanoparticles with templates March 4th, 2022
Discoveries
Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Announcements
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Nanobiotechnology
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
The mechanism of a novel circular RNA circZFR that promotes colorectal cancer progression July 5th, 2024
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||