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Shape changing thin films powered by DNA hybridization

Nature Nanotechnology volume 12, pages 41–47 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Active materials that respond to physical1,2,3 and chemical4,5,6 stimuli can be used to build dynamic micromachines that lie at the interface between biological systems and engineered devices7,8. In principle, the specific hybridization of DNA can be used to form a library of independent, chemically driven actuators for use in such microrobotic applications and could lead to device capabilities that are not possible with polymer- or metal-layer-based approaches. Here, we report shape changing films9 that are powered by DNA strand exchange reactions with two different domains that can respond to distinct chemical signals. The films are formed from DNA-grafted gold nanoparticles10,11 using a layer-by-layer deposition process. Films consisting of an active and a passive layer show rapid, reversible curling in response to stimulus DNA strands added to solution. Films consisting of two independently addressable active layers display a complex suite of repeatable transformations, involving eight mechanochemical states and incorporating self-righting behaviour.

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Figure 1: Shape changing DNA–GNP films are fabricated via layer-by-layer deposition using a PDMS gasket.
Figure 2: Strand exchange reactions enable reversible DNA–GNP swelling.
Figure 3: Active–passive DNA–GNP films undergo sheet-to-tube shape transitions.
Figure 4: Dual-addressable DNA–GNP films explore a 2D configuration space.
Figure 5: Double actuation of dual-addressable DNA–GNP films accesses unique shape states.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NSF under an MRSEC seed award (DMR11-20901). S.-J.P. acknowledges the financial support from a National Research Foundation of Korea grant, funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (NRF-2015R1A2A2A01003528). T.S.S. acknowledges the financial support from a National Research Foundation of Korea grant, funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (2016R1C1B2016089).

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Author notes

  1. Zaki G. Estephan

    Present address: Present address: Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124, USA,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Tae Soup Shim, Zaki G. Estephan, Jacob H. Prosser, Daeyeon Lee & John C. Crocker

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Tae Soup Shim, Zaki G. Estephan, Zhaoxia Qian, David M. Chenoweth & So-Jung Park

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon, 16499, Korea

    Tae Soup Shim

  4. Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon, 16499, Korea

    Tae Soup Shim

  5. Division of Advanced Materials, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Daejeon, 34114, Korea

    Su Yeon Lee

  6. Department of Chemistry and Nano Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Korea

    So-Jung Park

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Contributions

T.S.S., D.L., S.-J.P. and J.C.C. designed the study. T.S.S., Z.G.E., D.C. and J.C.C. designed the DNA sequence library. T.S.S., Z.Q. and S.Y.L. prepared the DNA–GNPs and other materials. T.S.S. and J.H.P. set up and performed the ellipsometry measurements. T.S.S. performed the experiments and prepared the figures. T.S.S., D.L., S.-J.P. and J.C.C. interpreted the results and wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Daeyeon Lee, So-Jung Park or John C. Crocker.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Shim, T., Estephan, Z., Qian, Z. et al. Shape changing thin films powered by DNA hybridization. Nature Nanotech 12, 41–47 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2016.192

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