DNA nanotechnology provides an avenue for the construction of programmable dynamic molecular systems

Abstract

Self-assembly, which is autonomously and spatiotemporally regulated by dynamic molecular interactions and chemical reaction networks, underlies various essential biological functions, such as cell migration, gene transcription, and cellular metabolism. Creating a molecular selfassembling system resembling a biological system with designed molecules would pave the way for the development of artificial molecular systems. Designability of DNA based on Watson-Crick base pairing has been best employed to construct various-shaped nanostructures and molecular reaction circuits. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent key achievements in DNA nanotechnology that enable us to design and fabricate bio-inspired self-assembled systems.

Pioneering artificial cell-like structures with DNA nanotechnology-based liquid-liquid phase separation

“…Although the LLPS of PEG/Dextran is often adopted in artificial cell studies, it is necessary to establish LLPS systems with more designable molecules to create artificial cells whose behavior can be programmed. In these viewpoints, DNA nanotechnology provides a promising approach for the bottom-up construction of artificial cell-like structures [ 4 ]. Due to the Watson-Crick base pairing, artificially synthesized sequence-designed DNAs hybridize with specific strand pairs.…”