DNA polymerase-catalyzed DNA network growth

The distinct base pairing property of DNA is an advantageous phenomenon that has been exploited in the usage of DNA as scaffold for directed self-organization to form nanometer-sized objects in a desirable fashion. Herein we report the construction of three-dimensional DNA-based networks that can be generated and amplified by the DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The approach is flexible allowing tuning of the meshes of the network by variation of the size of the template. Additionally, further diversification can be introduced by employment of chemically modified nucleotides in PCR allowing the introduction of functionalities and reporter moieties.