DNA nanotechnology for building artificial dynamic systems
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Introduction
DNA origami nanotechnology
Through evolution, nature has found the best and the most efficient designs for machinery, which provides inspiration for numerous technological developments. We constantly look for solutions to various challenges by learning from nature. One of the most important inventions in the history of humankind is airplanes, which take the shape of birds.1 Another example is the beautiful wings of butterflies, whose intrinsic structures have inspired new concepts in displays,2 fabrics, and cosmetics.3 Looking further down to the molecular level, nature is also extremely efficient in constructing biological machines.4 One class of biological machines is molecular motors in living cells, which directly convert chemical energy into mechanical work.5 Such motor proteins, including kinesin,6 dynein,7 and myosin,8 are all powered by the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), known as the fuel of life. Even though many unsolved questions remain toward the complete understanding of their working mechanisms, our current knowledge about these biological building blocks represents a precious treasure for nanotechnologists. Their optimized structures and operating mechanisms provide proof of feasibility to use nanotechnology for the realization of energy transfer, material delivery, and information processing, as well as other processes on the nanoscale.9 In turn, progress in the development of nanotechnology will allow engineering molecular entities for specific functions and needs in the future.
Among various biomimetic approaches, DNA origami nanotechnology is one of the most powerful tools to build artificial nanosystems entirely from the bottom up (see the December 2017 MRS Bulletin issue “DNA Nanotechnology: A Foundation for Programmable Nanoscale Materials”).10,11 The unique specificity of DNA interactions and our ability to code DNA sequences and to chemically functionalize DNA make it ideal for controlling the self-assembly of nanoscale components with high fidelity. In the 1980s, N. Seeman ushered in DNA as a construction material into the nanoscale world.12 In 2006, a crucial breakthrough in the field of DNA nanotechnology was achieved with the concept of DNA origami, developed by P. Rothemund.10 DNA origami involves the folding of a long scaffold DNA strand by hundreds of short staple strands into nanostructures with nearly arbitrary shapes. As each staple strand possesses a unique sequence and its position in the formed structure is deterministic, DNA origami can serve as “molecular pegboards” for self-assembly of nanoscale elements with significant geometric and topological complexity.13,14 Most importantly, this technology enables dynamic functionality of the assembled structures upon a variety of external inputs.15–18 This sets a solid foundation to realize DNA-based programmable nanomachinery. DNA origami nanotechnologists are lucky. On the one hand, they possess a unique nanoscale engineering tool to
Na Liu, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, and Kirchhoff In
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