Rapid Chiral Assembly of Rigid DNA Building Blocks for Molecular Nanofabrication
Abstract
Practical components for three-dimensional molecular nanofabrication must be simple to produce, stereopure, rigid, and adaptable. We report a family of DNA tetrahedra, less than 10 nanometers on a side, that can self-assemble in seconds with near-quantitative yield of one diastereomer. They can be connected by programmable DNA linkers. Their triangulated architecture confers structural stability; by compressing a DNA tetrahedron with an atomic force microscope, we have measured the axial compressibility of DNA and observed the buckling of the double helix under high loads.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- December 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1120367
- Bibcode:
- 2005Sci...310.1661G
- Keywords:
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- CHEMISTRY