A versatile, bottom‐up approach allows the controlled fabrication of polydopamine (PD) nanostructures on DNA origami. PD is a biosynthetic polymer that has been investigated as an adhesive and promising surface coating material. However, the control of dopamine polymerization is challenged by the multistage‐mediated reaction mechanism and diverse chemical structures in PD. DNA origami decorated with multiple horseradish peroxidase‐mimicking DNAzyme motifs was used to control the shape and size of PD formation with nanometer resolution. These fabricated PD nanostructures can serve as “supramolecular glue” for controlling DNA origami conformations. Facile liberation of the PD nanostructures from the DNA origami templates has been achieved in acidic medium. This presented DNA origami‐controlled polymerization of a highly crosslinked polymer provides a unique access towards anisotropic PD architectures with distinct shapes that were retained even in the absence of the DNA origami template.
Bottom-up strategies to fabricate patterned polymers at the nanoscale represent an emerging field in the development of advanced nanodevices, such as biosensors, nanofluidics, and nanophotonics. DNA origami techniques provide access to distinct architectures of various sizes and shapes and present manifold opportunities for functionalization at the nanoscale with the highest precision. Herein, we conduct in situ atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on DNA origami, yielding differently nanopatterned polymers of various heights. After cross-linking, the grafted polymeric nanostructures can even stably exist in solution without the DNA origami template. This straightforward approach allows for the fabrication of patterned polymers with low nanometer resolution, which provides access to unique DNA-based functional hybrid materials.
We describe the stepwise synthesis of precise polymeric objects programmed by a 3D DNA tube transformed from a common 2D DNA tile as a precise biotemplate for atom transfer radical polymerization.
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