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Loading and selective release of cargo in DNA nanotubes with longitudinal variation

Nature Chemistry volume 2, pages 319–328 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Nanotubes hold promise for a number of biological and materials applications because of their high aspect ratio and encapsulation potential. A particularly attractive goal is to access nanotubes that exert well-defined control over their cargo, such as selective encapsulation, precise positioning of the guests along the nanotube length and triggered release of this cargo in response to specific external stimuli. Here, we report the construction of DNA nanotubes with longitudinal variation and alternating larger and smaller capsules along the tube length. Size-selective encapsulation of gold nanoparticles into the large capsules of these tubes leads to ‘nanopeapod’ particle lines with positioning of the particles 65 nm apart. These nanotubes can then be opened when specific DNA strands are added to release their particle cargo spontaneously. This approach could lead to new applications of self-assembled nanotubes, such as in the precise organization of one-dimensional nanomaterials, gene-triggered selective delivery of drugs and biological sensing.

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Figure 1: Construction of triangular DNA nanotubes 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Figure 2: Construction of triangular rungs 1 and 2.
Figure 3: Characterization of DNA nanotubes 3.
Figure 4: AuNP encapsulation into alternating large–small triangular-shaped DNA nanotubes 4.
Figure 5: Control experiments.
Figure 6: Characterization of the DNA nanotubes 5 for selective release of AuNPs in response to specific external DNA eraser strands ES1′.
Figure 7: Construction of DNA nanotubes 13a and 13b, and ultraviolet–visible spectra of 13a.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Centre for Self-Assembled Chemical Structures and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research for financial support, and K. Sears for help in running the Pt–C shadowing experiment. P.K.L and P.K. thank the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a Chemical Biology Scholarship. H.F.S is a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, H3A 2K6, QC, Canada

    Pik Kwan Lo, Pierre Karam, Faisal A. Aldaye, Christopher K. McLaughlin, Graham D. Hamblin, Gonzalo Cosa & Hanadi F. Sleiman

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Contributions

All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. H.F.S. conceived and designed the project, analysed the data and co-wrote the paper. P.K.L conceived and designed the project, carried out the experiments, analysed the data and co-wrote the paper. P.K. and G.C made the confocal fluorescence and TIRF microscopy measurements and analysed the data. F.A.A. assisted in project design. C.K.M. carried out the cryo-EM experiment. G.D.H. helped with the design of nanotube 13 and with the graphical illustrations.

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Correspondence to Hanadi F. Sleiman.

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Lo, P., Karam, P., Aldaye, F. et al. Loading and selective release of cargo in DNA nanotubes with longitudinal variation. Nature Chem 2, 319–328 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.575

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