Minimalist Design of Wireframe DNA Nanotubes: Tunable Geometry,Size, Chirality,and Dynamics |
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Authors: | Xin Luo Daniel Saliba Tianxiao Yang Serena Gentile Keita Mori Patricia Islas Trishalina Das Neda Bagheri Alessandro Porchetta Alba Guarne Gonzalo Cosa Hanadi F Sleiman |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal QC, H3A 0B8 Canada
These authors contributed equally to this work.;2. Department of Biochemistry and Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale, McGill University, Montreal QC, Canada;3. Department of Chemistry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy;4. Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal QC, H3A 0B8 Canada |
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Abstract: | DNA nanotubes (NTs) have attracted extensive interest as artificial cytoskeletons for biomedical, synthetic biology, and materials applications. Here, we report the modular design and assembly of a minimalist yet robust DNA wireframe nanotube with tunable cross-sectional geometry, cavity size, chirality, and length, while using only four DNA strands. We introduce an h-motif structure incorporating double-crossover (DX) tile-like DNA edges to achieve structural rigidity and provide efficient self-assembly of h-motif-based DNA nanotube ( H-NT ) units, thus producing programmable, micrometer-long nanotubes. We demonstrate control of the H-NT nanotube length via short DNA modulators. Finally, we use an enzyme, RNase H, to take these structures out of equilibrium and trigger nanotube assembly at a physiologically relevant temperature, underlining future cellular applications. The minimalist H-NTs can assemble at near-physiological salt conditions and will serve as an easily synthesized, DNA-economical modular template for biosensors, plasmonics, or other functional materials and as cost-efficient drug-delivery vehicles for biomedical applications. |
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Keywords: | Biocompatible DNA Structures Controlled Chirality DNA Nanotubes Dynamic Self-Assembly Tunable Geometry |
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