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Design and self-assembly of two-dimensional DNA crystals

Nature volume 394, pages 539–544 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Molecular self-assembly presents a ‘bottom-up’ approach to the fabrication of objects specified with nanometre precision. DNA molecular structures and intermolecular interactions are particularly amenable to the design and synthesis of complex molecular objects. We report the design and observation of two-dimensional crystalline forms of DNA that self-assemble from synthetic DNA double-crossover molecules. Intermolecular interactions between the structural units are programmed by the design of ‘sticky ends’ that associate according to Watson–Crick complementarity, enabling us to create specific periodic patterns on the nanometre scale. The patterned crystals have been visualized by atomic force microscopy.

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Figure 1: Design of DX molecular structure and arrangement into 2-D lattices.
Figure 2: Autoradiogram of a 4% denaturing polyacrylamide gel showing the product after assembly of 2-D lattice DAE-O (AB), ligation to form long covalent strands, and denaturing to separate the strands. Lane 1 contains a ladder or markers at 100-base intervals.
Figure 3: AFM images of two-unit lattices.
Figure 4: AFM images showing large crystals and modifications of lattice periodicity and surface features.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Hopfield, S. Roweis, S. Mahajan, C. Brody, L. Adleman and P. Rothemund for discussion; J. Abelson and his group for use of his laboratory and for technical advice; A. Segal, E. Rabani and R. Moision for instruction and advice on AFM imaging; the Beckman Institute Molecular Materials Resource Center for assistance and use of their AFM facilities; F. Furuya for help with labelling; and M. Yoder, V. Morozov, D. Stokes, M. Simon and J. Wall for assistance in early attempts to visualize DNA lattices. The research at Caltech has been supported by the National Institute for Mental Health, General Motors' Technology Research Partnerships program, and by the Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering as a part of the NSF Engineering Research Center Program. The research at NYU has been supported by the Office of Naval Research, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the NSF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 91125, California, USA

    Erik Winfree

  2. Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, USA

    Furong Liu, Lisa A. Wenzler & Nadrian C. Seeman

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  1. Erik Winfree
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  2. Furong Liu
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Correspondence to Erik Winfree.

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Winfree, E., Liu, F., Wenzler, L. et al. Design and self-assembly of two-dimensional DNA crystals. Nature 394, 539–544 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/28998

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