Herein, we present a simple linear motor, built from DNA and a restriction enzyme, which moves a DNA cargo in discrete steps along a DNA track. Movement is powered by a nicking enzyme that cuts the track. Damage to the track in the wake of the cargo imposes directionality.The specificity of base-pairing, the rigidity of short segments of the double helix, and the flexibility of singlestranded segments make DNA an ideal material for construction of nanometer-sized mechanical devices. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Such devices can generate forces of the order of picoNewtons, [2] in the same range as the forces developed by single-molecule

We present a study of the hybridization of complementary DNA hairpin loops, with particular reference to their use as fuel for autonomous DNA devices. The rate of spontaneous hybridization between complementary hairpins can be reduced by increasing the neck length or decreasing the loop length. Hairpins with larger loops rapidly form long-lived kissed complexes. Hairpin loops may be opened by strand displacement using an opening strand that contains the same sequence as half of the neck and a "toehold" complementary to a single-stranded domain adjacent to the neck. We find loop opening via an external toehold to be 10-100 times faster than via an internal toehold. We measure rates of loop opening by opening strands that are at least 1000 times faster than the spontaneous interaction between hairpins. We discuss suitable choices for loop, neck, and toehold length for hairpin loops to be used as fuel for autonomous DNA devices.

Two left feet? Directionality is established in a processive DNA motor by coordinating the reactivities of two identical feet (see picture). Energy is provided by hydrolysis of a single‐stranded DNA fuel. The directional bias of the motor can be controlled through the choice of fuel.

Herein, we present a simple linear motor, built from DNA and a restriction enzyme, which moves a DNA cargo in discrete steps along a DNA track. Movement is powered by a nicking enzyme that cuts the track. Damage to the track in the wake of the cargo imposes directionality.The specificity of base-pairing, the rigidity of short segments of the double helix, and the flexibility of singlestranded segments make DNA an ideal material for construction of nanometer-sized mechanical devices. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Such devices can generate forces of the order of picoNewtons, [2] in the same range as the forces developed by single-molecule

Metastable two-stranded DNA loops can be assembled into extended DNA oligomers by kinetically controlled self-assembly. Along the designed reaction pathway, the sequence of hybridization reactions is controlled by progressively revealing toeholds required to initiate strand-displacement reactions. The product length depends inversely on seed concentration and ranges from a few hundred to several thousand base-pairs.