Metal-complex/DNA conjugates: a versatile building block for DNA nanoarrays

The use of DNA networks as templates for forming nanoarrays of metallic centres shows an exciting potential to generate addressable nanostructures. Inorganic units can be photoactive, electroactive and/or can possess magnetic and catalytic properties and can adopt different spatial arrangements due to their varied coordination nature. All these properties influence both the structure and function of passive DNA scaffolds and provide DNA nanostructures as a new platform for new materials in emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology, biosensing or biocomputing.     

Controlling the chirality of DNA nanocages

Playing DNA Twister: By using asymmetric DNA building blocks, self-assembled DNA nanocages that are chiral on the nanoscale have been designed. The resulting DNA nanocages have been characterized with a variety of methods. Such chiral control could be useful for tuning the photonic/optical properties of DNA-templated nanostructures.