DNA-Origami

As DNA origami is called in biochemistry and biophysics, the folding of DNA to produce any two - and three-dimensional shapes on the nanoscale.

Principle

In the model developed by Paul Rothemund at the California Institute of Technology process of Scaffolded DNA origami is a long single strand of viral DNA, the beach scaffold, with the help of many shorter single strands of DNA, the staple strands, folded to approximate the desired shape. The basis of the method is that matching base sequences to hybridize due to the specific binding between complementary bases, which may be used for a self-assembly. A staple beach about whose two halves are complementary to two sections of the viral DNA, connects to each half with the respective section. For this purpose, the long DNA molecule must fold, as both sections are now " stitched" together by the staple beach.

The base sequence of the viral DNA ( the beach scaffold ) is known. It (the staple strands) are designed and synthesized, which hold the scaffold beach cleverly as possible to the desired shape oligonucleotides. Typically, the viral DNA is folded into a line by line scanning, which approximates the shape. Are scaffold strands were mixed and heated with staple strands under appropriate conditions, the proposed figures form without directing the action from the outside. For this reason, this method is referred to as self-organizing ( self-assembling ). Various two-dimensional shapes, including maps, stars and smileys, as well as three-dimensional structures, such as tetrahedra, have already been generated.

The advantages of this method are the relative simplicity, high yield and low cost. Many potential applications have been proposed in the literature, including sleeves for drug delivery and positioning of nanoparticles. DNA origami is used inter alia for the production of DNA machines.