Heyman, Y., et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 7, 374–378 (2012).

Imitating nature's assembly lines would help researchers make effective biodevices, but too much is still unknown about the process by which proteins and nucleic acids come together to form active complexes. Heyman et al. took a step toward a better understanding of the assembly process by designing a nanoscale platform that allows for molecule synthesis, assembly and imaging. On a transmission electron microscopy chip, they immobilized DNA, which was then transcribed and translated; protein-specific antibodies, immobilized on the chip next to the DNA, subsequently captured the protein. The researchers observed the correct folding of GFP and that of a more complex nanotube-forming protein, and they assembled two separate proteins in a specific pattern. The next step could be a more complex assembly starting from a set of structural genes.