Routing of individual polymers in designed patterns

Abstract

Synthetic polymers are ubiquitous in the modern world, but our ability to exert control over the molecular conformation of individual polymers is very limited. In particular, although the programmable self-assembly of oligonucleotides and proteins into artificial nanostructures has been demonstrated, we currently lack the tools to handle other types of synthetic polymers individually and thus the ability to utilize and study their single-molecule properties. Here we show that synthetic polymer wires containing short oligonucleotides that extend from each repeat can be made to assemble into arbitrary routings. The wires, which can be more than 200 nm in length, are soft and bendable, and the DNA strands allow individual polymers to self-assemble into predesigned routings on both two- and three-dimensional DNA origami templates. The polymers are conjugated and potentially conducting, and could therefore be used to create molecular-scale electronic or optical wires in arbitrary geometries.

Proximity does not contribute to activity enhancement in the glucose oxidase–horseradish peroxidase cascade

“…Knudsen et al 40. measured the surface potential of a single-stranded DNA-grafted brush polymer by atomic force microscopy to be −130 mV.…”

Pathway Diversity in the Self-Assembly of DNA-Derived Bioconjugates

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] DNA conjugates often combine multiple self-assembly motifs enabling selective and orthogonal noncovalent interactions. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] To date, little is known about materials from DNA conjugates, in which the interactions between the non-DNA parts are central for the hierarchical organization. Therefore, the study of the mechanistic details of self-assembly in such systems is important.…”

Protein Coating of DNA Nanostructures for Enhanced Stability and Immunocompatibility

“…[10][11][12] The computational tools [11][12][13] for designing such objects have emerged along with these techniques, and this progress has opened up new possibilities for the researchers to effortlessly build their own nanostructures for tailored uses. [14] Recently demonstrated applications based on customized DNA nanostructures include artificial ion channels, [15] optical (plasmonic and photonic) structures, [16,17] high-precision molecular positioning devices, [18] modifiable templates for arranging, e.g., proteins, [19][20][21] polymers, [22] and nanotubes, [23] as well as DNA-assisted techniques for creating arbitrarily shaped metal nanoparticles. [24][25][26] Fully addressable DNA nanostructures, especially DNA origami, possess huge potential to serve as inherently biocompatible and versatile molecular platforms.…”