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Reconfigurable, braced, three-dimensional DNA nanostructures

Nature Nanotechnology volume 3, pages 93–96 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

DNA nanotechnology makes use of the exquisite self-recognition of DNA in order to build on a molecular scale1. Although static structures may find applications in structural biology2,3,4 and computer science5, many applications in nanomedicine and nanorobotics require the additional capacity for controlled three-dimensional movement6. DNA architectures can span three dimensions4,7,8,9,10 and DNA devices are capable of movement10,11,12,13,14,15,16, but active control of well-defined three-dimensional structures has not been achieved. We demonstrate the operation of reconfigurable DNA tetrahedra whose shapes change precisely and reversibly in response to specific molecular signals. Shape changes are confirmed by gel electrophoresis and by bulk and single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer measurements. DNA tetrahedra are natural building blocks for three-dimensional construction9; they may be synthesized rapidly with high yield of a single stereoisomer, and their triangulated architecture conveys structural stability. The introduction of shape-changing structural modules opens new avenues for the manipulation of matter on the nanometre scale.

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Figure 1: DNA tetrahedron synthesis.
Figure 2: Cycling between the open and closed states of a tetrahedron with a single reconfigurable edge.
Figure 3: State-switching in a tetrahedron with two reconfigurable edges, each independently addressable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, and the Ministry of Defence through the Bionanotechnology Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration. A.N.K. was also supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant EP/D058775 and Marie Curie EU grant MIRG-CT-2005-031079. M.H. was supported by a fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and R.P.G. was supported by a Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford. Correspondence and request for materials should be addressed to A.J.T.

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  1. Mike Heilemann & Sören Doose

    Present address: Present address: Applied Laser Physics and Laser Spectroscopy, University of Bielefeld, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK

    Russell P. Goodman, Mike Heilemann, Sören Doose, Christoph M. Erben, Achillefs N. Kapanidis & Andrew J. Turberfield

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Correspondence to Andrew J. Turberfield.

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Goodman, R., Heilemann, M., Doose, S. et al. Reconfigurable, braced, three-dimensional DNA nanostructures. Nature Nanotech 3, 93–96 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.3

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