{"id":5881,"date":"2012-06-01T13:20:52","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T03:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceillustrated.com.au\/blog\/?p=5881"},"modified":"2012-06-15T17:09:27","modified_gmt":"2012-06-15T07:09:27","slug":"dna-strands-self-assemble-to-make-nanoscale-artworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceillustrated.com.au\/blog\/science\/dna-strands-self-assemble-to-make-nanoscale-artworks\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA strands self-assemble to make nanoscale artworks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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100 self-assembled DNA shapes. Image: Peng Yin, Wyss Institute<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Artistically crafted nanotechnology could enable the development of new tools to deliver drugs directly into disease sites in the body.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes in science an elegantly designed experiment just makes you smile with awe-inspired amazement. This was definitely the case with a recent study from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering<\/a> at Harvard University, where researchers have built tiny intricate shapes out of single stranded tiles (SSTs) of DNA \u2014 a technique that is as much art as it is cutting edge technology.<\/p>\n

Building complex nanostructures out of DNA has been done for years using a method called DNA origami<\/a>. This involves the use of a single long strand of DNA, acting as a scaffold along which smaller strands attach at different segments to create precise shapes. The problem with DNA origami is that using a very long single DNA strand can be a complicated and cumbersome process. Additionally, the long strands of DNA typically come from viruses, which raises the possibility that the immune system will attack any medical device made from the material as soon as it enters the body. With these factors in mind, the researchers of the current study designed a simple, robust and versatile alternative by focusing on the use of short strands of synthetic DNA “building blocks”\u009d and avoiding long scaffold strands.<\/p>\n

The research team, led by Peng Yin from Harvard Medical School, developed a “molecular canvas”\u009d out of an SST rectangular lattice, which looks like a miniature brick wall \u2014 64 by 103 nm in size. In the canvas each DNA block \u2014 or pixel \u2014 is attracted to specific corresponding base domains in four neighbouring blocks. The scientists then designed over 100 shapes \u2014 including letters, Chinese characters and emoticons \u2014 out of short strands of self-assembling DNA. They did this via an annealing<\/a> process of all the DNA strands that correspond to the pixels covered by the target shape.<\/p>\n