DNA nanotechnology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Various methods, using DNA, have been reported for the recording of biomolecular interactions, but most are either destructive in nature or are limited to reporting pairwise interactions. Here the authors develop DNA-based motors, termed ‘crawlers’, that roam around and record their trajectories to allow the examination of molecular environments.

A pH-responsive DNA origami device displays a precise geometric array of CD95 ligands to selectively induce activated immune cell death and elicit localized immune tolerance to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis.

The self-assembly process of DNA nanostructures is still not well understood, especially for DNA origami. Here, the authors present a mesoscopic model that uses a switchable force field to capture the mechanical behavior of single- and double-stranded DNA motifs and transition between them, allowing access to the long assembly timescales of DNA origami up to several kilobases in size.

Contractile rings are formed from cytoskeletal filaments, specific crosslinkers and motor proteins during cell division. Here, authors form micron-scale contractile DNA rings from DNA nanotubes and synthetic crosslinkers, with both simulations and experiments showing ring contraction without motor proteins, offering a potential first step towards synthetic cell division machinery.

Limited datasets hinder the accurate prediction of DNA origami structures. A data-driven and physics-informed approach for model training is presented using a graph neural network to facilitate the rapid virtual prototyping of DNA-based nanostructures.

Conserved regions of the circular DNA sequence of the M13mp18 bacteriophage, which is used as a scaffold for DNA origami construction, are targeted with specific hybridization-chain-reaction probes. The probes enable sensitive detection of DNA origami nanostructures in cells, organoids and tissues to assess their biodistribution and stability.

A biohybrid, leaf-spring design of DNA origami functions as a pulsating nanoengine that exploits the DNA-templated RNA transcription mechanism while consuming nucleoside triphosphates as fuel. The nanoengine also drives a nanomechanical follower structure.

DNA-based molecular computation allows for the simultaneous detection of multiple types of biomarker, as shown for the accurate identification of prostate cancer in serum samples on the basis of specific RNAs, proteins and small molecules.

A DNA origami nanoturbine is designed as a rotary motor that draws power from an ion gradient or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore. Single-molecule experiments demonstrate that the turbine can drive a DNA bundle into sustained unidirectional rotation, with the preferred rotation direction set by the chirality of the turbine.

The commercialization of DNA tagging is a growing trend that demonstrates the increasing practicality of this novel approach. This interdisciplinary technology is based on the distinctive characteristics of DNA as a molecule that can remain stable in varying environmental conditions and store data following appropriate preparation. Moreover, newly developed technologies could simplify DNA synthesis and the encoding of data within DNA. The implementation of DNA tagging presents distinctive benefits in comparison to conventional labelling techniques, including universal product code (UPC) barcoding, radio-frequency identification (RFID), quick response (QR) codes, and Bluetooth technologies, by surmounting the limitations encountered by these systems. The discourse pertains to extant DNA-tagging mechanisms along with prospective implementations in a wide range of domains, including but not limited to art, the metaverse, forensics, wildlife monitoring, and the military. The potential of DNA labelling in various contexts underscores the importance of continued research and development in this rapidly evolving field.

DNA-origami nanostructures self-assembled at milder physicochemical parameters in magnesium-free conditions achieve structural complexities akin to those formed by thermal annealing at elevated temperatures, and open a route to assembling DNA nanomachines in physiological conditions.