DNA nanotechnology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA could find a role in molecular electronics. Here, the authors show that the conductance of DNA can be reversibly changed by an order of magnitude when its conformation is changed from one form to another by controlling its chemical environment.

    • Juan Manuel Artés
    • , Yuanhui Li
    •  & Joshua Hihath

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Piezoresistivity finds many applications in micro-electromechanical systems, but a piezoresistive material at a molecular level has not yet been demonstrated. Here, Bruotet al. show this effect in double helix DNA molecules due to the electronic coupling between neighbouring bases upon mechanical force.

    • Christopher Bruot
    • , Julio L. Palma
    •  & Nongjian Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-assembly is a useful method to fabricate novel supramolecular architectures. Here, the authors use lipid-bilayer-assisted self-assembly to obtain two-dimensional crystalline DNA origami lattices, imaging dynamic assembly phenomena using high-speed atomic force microscopy.

    • Yuki Suzuki
    • , Masayuki Endo
    •  & Hiroshi Sugiyama

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling self-assembly of nanoparticles into superlattices is an important approach to build functional materials. Here, Lu et al. use directional binding provided by DNA-encoded polyhedral blocks—cubes or octahedrons—to guide spherical nanoparticles into clusters and three-dimensional lattices.

    • Fang Lu
    • , Kevin G. Yager
    •  & Oleg Gang

  • Article |

    The development of improved DNA sequencing technologies relies on the ability to distinguish each of the four DNA nucleobases separately. Here, the authors fabricate a graphene field-effect transistor able to experimentally observe individual DNA nucleobases.

    • Nikolai Dontschuk
    • , Alastair Stacey
    •  & Jiri Cervenka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA is a useful molecule with which to construct nanomaterials with controllable functionalities. Here, the authors fabricate photonic wires by appending dye molecules at set positions along DNA structures, and show how FRET performance can be tuned by modifying dye separation.

    • Susan Buckhout-White
    • , Christopher M Spillmann
    •  & Igor L. Medintz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA may be used to fabricate functional nanostructures with various possible geometries, but first being able to predict these structures is a challenging task. Here, the authors use coarse-grained modelling to predict the shape of artificial DNA nanostructures in solution.

    • Keyao Pan
    • , Do-Nyun Kim
    •  & Mark Bathe

  • Article |

    The typical method for DNA origami fabrication uses thermal annealing of staples to a longer DNA scaffold. Here, the authors present a mechanical method to control the folding pathway, which instead relies on stretching the DNA scaffold in magnetic tweezers, prior to staple incorporation.

    • Wooli Bae
    • , Kipom Kim
    •  & Tae-Young Yoon

  • Article |

    The predictable assembly of DNA makes it a useful scaffold for creating pathways to guide nanotransport systems. Here the authors use reversible covalent capture of DNA by quinone methide generation, as well as diffusion along the nucleophilic surface of DNA to guide migration.

    • Fazel Fakhari
    •  & Steven E. Rokita

  • Article |

    Metal nanostructures strongly influence fluorescence of nearby molecules, ranging from significant enhancement to total quenching. To decode the precise interactions taking place, Holzmeister et al. present a method that distinguishes the contributions to excitation, radiative and non-radiative rates.

    • Phil Holzmeister
    • , Enrico Pibiri
    •  & Philip Tinnefeld

  • Article |

    The hybridization of DNA in solution is more difficult the shorter the strands become, making trimer duplexes difficult to isolate and study. Here, the authors use a silica pore in supercooled conditions to isolate and study complementary and mismatched trimer DNA duplexes.

    • Hiroyuki Arafune
    • , Akira Yamaguchi
    •  & Norio Teramae

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA is a particularly useful molecule with which to assemble mechanical nanodevices with controllable functions. Here, the authors present a three-membered DNA catenane as a controllable and reversible logic circuit.

    • Tao Li
    • , Finn Lohmann
    •  & Michael Famulok

  • Article |

    Field-effect transistor biomolecule sensors have numerous advantages including sensitivity and label-free operation. Here, the authors fabricate field-effect transistor arrays from graphene, which represent steps towards multiplexed DNA arrays, where graphene acts as both a sensor and electrophoretic electrode.

    • Guangyu Xu
    • , Jeffrey Abbott
    •  & Donhee Ham

  • Article |

    Nucleic acids possess a number of properties that can be beneficial for the fabrication of nanomaterials. Here, the authors present an enzymatically synthesised RNA membrane, and show how its physical properties can be controlled by changes to base-pairing.

    • Daehoon Han
    • , Yongkuk Park
    •  & Jong Bum Lee

  • Article |

    Catenanes are structures composed of interlocked supramolecular rings, and they have possible applications as molecular switches and nanomotors. Here, the authors present a catenane formed of interlocked DNA rings, and show how each ring can display independent functionalities.

    • Zai-Sheng Wu
    • , Zhifa Shen
    •  & Yingfu Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sequence-programmable self-assembly of DNA enables the formation of a variety of complex structures; however, determining the quality of these multi-chain structures is challenging. Here the authors address this problem by using a fluorescent probe to measure the amount of unpaired bases in the DNA assemblies.

    • Klaus F. Wagenbauer
    • , Christian H. Wachauf
    •  & Hendrik Dietz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasmonic resonances in nanoparticle helices arranged by the DNA origami method can give rise to strong circular dichroism at visible wavelengths. Schreiber et al. show that aligning and then toggling the orientation of such nanoparticle helices enables reversible switching of the dichroic response.

    • Robert Schreiber
    • , Ngoc Luong
    •  & Tim Liedl

  • Article |

    The development of a series of orthogonal binding interactions to direct the controlled self-assembly of mesoscale objects is desirable. Here, the authors use DNA as a sequence-specific glue to assemble hydrogel cuboids into a diverse series of structures in the micro- to millimeter length scale.

    • Hao Qi
    • , Majid Ghodousi
    •  & Ali Khademhosseini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The comprehensive bioanalysis of proteins usually requires multi-step surface and mobile phase measurements. Here, the authors use chips functionalized with dynamically actuated nanolevers—DNA strands that can be switched in an electric field—to obtain motional dynamic measurements of proteins on a chip.

    • Andreas Langer
    • , Paul A. Hampel
    •  & Ulrich Rant

  • Article |

    The control of regulatory enzymes is essential for the modulation of biochemical cellular pathways. Here, the authors fabricate a tweezer-like DNA nanodevice to actuate the activity of an enzyme/cofactor pair, and are able to control enzyme inhibition and activation over multiple cycles.

    • Minghui Liu
    • , Jinglin Fu
    •  & Hao Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA tile self-assembly and DNA strand displacement circuits are well-developed frameworks in DNA nanotechnology. Here, the two approaches are combined to give programmable kinetic control of DNA nanotube self-assembly.

    • David Yu Zhang
    • , Rizal F. Hariadi
    •  & Erik Winfree

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-assembly of DNA can provide access to a range of nanoscale structures, but assembly using magnesium has been considered essential. Martin and Dietz report conditions that allow the assembly of templated, multi-layer DNA structures in the presence of monovalent ions, rather than magnesium.

    • Thomas G. Martin
    •  & Hendrik Dietz

  • Article |

    DNA nanotubes could be used to transport nano-cargo and incorporated into nano-devices. In this study, rolling circle amplification is used to generate DNA subunits, and their thermodynamic growth results in the formation of nanotubes with a controlled diameter.

    • Ofer I. Wilner
    • , Ron Orbach
    •  & Itamar Willner

  • Article |

    Encapsulating molecules within supramolecular frameworks for potential biological application is challenging. Bhatiaet al. incorporate a fluorescent polymer within an icosahedral DNA nanocapsule, and show that it can be used to target specific cells in vivoand map pH spatially and temporally.

    • Dhiraj Bhatia
    • , Sunaina Surana
    •  & Yamuna Krishnan

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