Design and Synthesis of Triangulated DNA Origami Trusses

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 2108 - 2113
• Main Authors: Matthies, Michael, Agarwal, Nayan P, Schmidt, Thorsten L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 09.03.2016
• Subjects: Buffers; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA - chemistry; Enzymes; Models, Molecular; Nanoengineering; Nanostructure; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology - methods; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Trusses; triangulated trusses; triangulation; DNA nanotechnology; DNA origami; wireframe structures
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00381

DNA nanotechnology offers unique control over matter on the nanoscale. Here, we extend the DNA origami method to cover a range of wireframe truss structures composed of equilateral triangles, which use less material per volume than standard multiple-helix bundles. From a flat truss design, we folded tetrahedral, octahedral, or irregular dodecahedral trusses by exchanging few connector strands. Other than standard origami designs, the trusses can be folded in low-salt buffers that make them compatible with cell culture buffers. The structures also have defined cavities that may in the future be used to precisely position functional elements such as metallic nanoparticles or enzymes. Our graph routing program and a simple design pipeline will enable other laboratories to make use of this valuable and potent new construction principle for DNA-based nanoengineering.