Organizing materials with DNA articles from across Nature Portfolio

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
20 March 2023 | Open Access

Digital nanoreactors to control absolute stoichiometry and spatiotemporal behavior of DNA receptors within lipid bilayers

Resolving the stoichiometry of membrane protein interactions is challenging but is vital to understand cell signalling. Using lipid-bound DNA receptors as a model for membrane proteins, the authors present a platform to achieve stoichiometric, spatial and temporal control over their interactions.
- Vishal Maingi
- , Zhao Zhang
- & Paul W. K. Rothemund
Nature Communications 14, 1532
Research | 17 October 2022

Shape memory in self-adapting colloidal crystals

Preparing crystals held together with macromolecular bonds can create shape memory materials that can be engineered to exhibit a wide range of reversible changes useful for chemical sensing, optics and robotics.
- Seungkyu Lee
- , Heather A. Calcaterra
- & Chad A. Mirkin
Nature 610, 674-679
Research
23 August 2022 | Open Access

Nanoscale 3D spatial addressing and valence control of quantum dots using wireframe DNA origami

Programming the 3D spatial organization of quantum dots requires precise control over their individual valence, but this is challenging due to the possible presence of multiple binding sites. Here, authors develop a general approach that uses highly programmable wireframe DNA origami structures to control the 3D spatial relationships between QDs and other non-nucleic-acid molecules.
- Chi Chen
- , Xingfei Wei
- & Mark Bathe
Nature Communications 13, 4935
Research
04 August 2022 | Open Access

Systems of axon-like circuits for self-assembled and self-controlled growth of bioelectric networks
- Russell Deaton
- , Max Garzon
- & Rojoba Yasmin
Scientific Reports 12, 13371
Protocols | 06 June 2022

Design and simulation of DNA, RNA and hybrid protein–nucleic acid nanostructures with oxView

Sulc and colleagues describe a design tool, oxView, for visualization and analysis of simulations of DNA, RNA and nucleic acid–protein nanostructures.
- Joakim Bohlin
- , Michael Matthies
- & Petr Šulc
Nature Protocols 17, 1762-1788
Reviews | 06 June 2022

Dissipative DNA nanotechnology

The emerging field of dissipative DNA nanotechnology aims at developing synthetic devices and nanomaterials with life-like properties such as directional motion, transport, communication or adaptation. This Review surveys how dissipative DNA systems combine the programmability of nucleic-acid reactions with the consumption of energy stored in chemical fuel molecules to perform work and cyclical tasks.
- Erica Del Grosso
- , Elisa Franco
- & Francesco Ricci
Nature Chemistry 14, 600-613

All Research & Reviews

News and Comment

Research Highlights | 22 December 2021

Fabricating functionalized fibres

Cyanuric acid (CA) derivatives can co-assemble with polyadenine sequences to form a triple helical DNA-based structure bearing functional groups able to guide higher ordered architectures.
- Colette Whitfield
Nature Reviews Chemistry 6, 5
Editorial | 25 August 2021

A molecular jack-of-all-trades

DNA is much more than the genetic information it carries. It is a versatile material for creating systems with tailor-made functionalities that are having an important impact in emerging technologies.

Nature Materials 20, 1171
News & Views | 30 March 2021

Wrap to sort

Modelling the structure and behaviour of vesicles in cells requires liposomes with precise sizes, but producing liposomes with a narrow size distribution is challenging. An approach has now been developed to accurately size-sort liposomes in a scalable way by coating them with customized structures based on DNA nanotechnology.
- Silvia Hernández-Ainsa
Nature Chemistry 13, 301-302
Comments & Opinion | 24 June 2020

Complex assemblies and crystals guided by DNA

The complexity of DNA-programmed nanoparticle assemblies has reached an unprecedented level owing to recent advances that enable delicate and comprehensive control over the formation of DNA bonds.
- Shuoxing Jiang
- , Fei Zhang
- & Hao Yan
Nature Materials 19, 694-700
News & Views | 14 January 2019

Great stretches for your antibody workout

DNA origami unravels the role of target spacing in antibody binding.
- Pavel Tolar
Nature Nanotechnology 14, 101-102
News & Views | 23 January 2018

Through, rather than across

Dye molecules are shown to assemble into J-aggregate arrays by sequence-specific organization in the minor groove of DNA duplex sequences. Energy transfer through these structures displays the hallmarks of coherent coupling over distances that exceed those of conventional dipole-coupling processes.
- Marcel P. Bruchez
Nature Materials 17, 112-113