Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Dynamic patterning programmed by DNA tiles captured on a DNA origami substrate

Nature Nanotechnology volume 4, pages 245–248 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The aim of nanotechnology is to put specific atomic and molecular species where we want them, when we want them there. Achieving such dynamic and functional control could lead to programmable chemical synthesis and nanoscale systems that are responsive to their environments. Structural DNA nanotechnology offers a powerful route to this goal by combining stable branched DNA motifs1 with cohesive ends to produce programmed nanomechanical devices2 and fixed3,4,5 or modified6,7 patterned lattices. Here, we demonstrate a dynamic form of patterning8 in which a pattern component is captured between two independently programmed DNA devices. A simple and robust error-correction protocol has been developed that yields programmed targets in all cases. This capture system can lead to dynamic control either on patterns or on programmed elements; this capability enables computation or a change of structural state as a function of information in the surroundings of the system.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Schematics of the four different capture molecules.
Figure 2: Origami arrays and capture molecules.
Figure 3: Atomic force micrographs of the correction procedure for the diamond-shaped capture molecule.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Seeman, N. C. Nucleic acid junctions and lattices. J. Theor. Biol. 99, 237–247 (1982).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Seeman, N. C. & Lukeman, P. S. Nucleic acid nanostructures. Rep. Prog. Phys. 68, 237–270 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Winfree, E., Liu, F., Wenzler, L. A. & Seeman, N. C. Design and self-assembly of two-dimensional DNA crystals. Nature 394, 539–544 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rothemund, P. W. K. Scaffolded DNA origami for nanoscale shapes and patterns. Nature 440, 297–302 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rothemund, P. W. K., Papadakis, N. & Winfree, E. Algorithmic self-assembly of Sierpinski triangles. PLoS Biol. 2, 2041–2053 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Liu, F., Sha, R. & Seeman, N. C. Modifying the surface features of two-dimensional DNA crystals. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 917–922 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Garibotti, A. V., Knudsen, S. M., Ellington, A. D. & Seeman, N. C. Functional DNAzymes organized into 2D arrays. Nano Lett. 6, 1505–1507 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Carbone, A. & Seeman, N. C. Circuits and programmable self-assembling DNA structures. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 12577–12582 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yan, H., Zhang, X., Shen, Z. & Seeman, N. C. A robust DNA mechanical device controlled by hybridization topology. Nature 415, 62–65 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Ding, B. & Seeman, N. C. Operation of a DNA robot arm inserted into a 2D DNA crystalline substrate. Science 314, 1583–1585 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Rinker, S., Ke, Y., Liu, Y., Chhabra, R. & Yan, H. Self-assembled DNA nanostructures for distance-dependent multivalent ligand–protein binding. Nature Nanotech. 3, 418–422 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Mao, C., LaBean, T., Reif, J. H. & Seeman, N. C. Logical computation using algorithmic self-assembly of DNA triple crossover molecules. Nature 407, 493–496 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zheng, J. et al. 2D nanoparticle arrays show the organizational power of robust DNA motifs. Nano Lett. 6, 1502–1504 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ke, Y., Lindsay, S., Chang, Y., Liu, Y. & Yan, H. Self-assembled water-soluble nucleic acid probe molecules for label-free RNA hybridization. Science 319, 180–183 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to A. Carbone, H. Yan, N. Jonoska and C. Mao for comments on this manuscript. This research has been supported by grants to N.C.S. from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the NYNBIT program of the Department of Energy and the W.M. Keck Foundation and to S.J.X. from the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2007CB925101) and NSFC (no. 20721002). J.C. thanks the Chinese Scholarship Council for a research fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Hongzhou Gu & Nadrian C. Seeman

  2. State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Jie Chao & Shou-Jun Xiao

Authors
  1. Hongzhou Gu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jie Chao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shou-Jun Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nadrian C. Seeman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 3839 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gu, H., Chao, J., Xiao, SJ. et al. Dynamic patterning programmed by DNA tiles captured on a DNA origami substrate. Nature Nanotech 4, 245–248 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.5

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing