From DNA Nanotechnology to Material Systems Engineering

Abstract

Rothemund's "scaffolded DNA origami" technique [6] dramatically simplified the fabrication of finite DNA nanostructures. In a simple and fast "one-pot" reaction, hundreds of short oligonucleotides, referred to as "staple strands," are used to direct the folding path of a kilobase long circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) "scaffold" into an arbitrary shape held together

Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation

“…For example, chemical modification of the effective valence of one component to change into or out of a magic-ratio condition could shift the phase boundary as a possible means of condensate regulation [5]. Magic-ratio effects could also manifest in other experimental systems, such as non-biological polymers, DNA origami [21], or patchy colloid systems [22]. As an inverse problem, the magic-ratio effect could be exploited to determine the relative valence of associating biomolecules by measuring their phase diagram.…”

Cultivation of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria in Conductive DNA Nanocomposite Hydrogels Yields a Programmable Biohybrid Materials System

“…This programmability of the polymer backbone, which can be tailored by targeted sequence design over several size scales from the lower nanometer to the upper micrometer range, offers unique advantages over synthetic polymers and thus far-reaching perspectives for the use of DNA material systems to control living organisms. 2,30 With regard to the exoelectrogenic bacteria investigated here, possible applications go beyond the currently intensively researched biosensor and fuel cell systems. For example, the cultivation of biofilms in microfluidic systems is making substantial progress 31 and this technological platform is also being used for research into supramolecular and dissipative material systems.…”

Bottom‐Up Assembly of DNA–Silica Nanocomposites into Micrometer‐Sized Hollow Spheres

“…The sequence‐specific binding properties of nucleic acids have been exploited over the past 35 years to establish the field of DNA nanotechnology, which has developed into a highly innovative and lively field of research at the interface of chemistry, materials science, biotechnology, and nanotechnology . At present, it is becoming clearly evident that the various sub‐disciplines of DNA nanotechnology, ranging from pure “structural DNA nanotechnology” over protein DNA assemblies, nanoparticle‐based DNA materials, and DNA polymers to DNA surface technology, are growing ever closer together to create functional devices for applications in the bio‐ and materials sciences . However, there is still a great need for methodological approaches to bridge the size regime of individual DNA nanostructures with that of micrometer‐ and millimeter‐sized units for real‐world applications.…”