title: DNA nanomechanical switches under folding kinetics control.
abstract: Existing DNA nanodevices operate at equilibrium under changes in solution composition. We propose an alternative DNA switch design that can be driven and maintained out of equlibrium, under fixed chemical conditions. Moderate cooling rate after heat denaturation drives the switch to its lowest energy conformation, while rapid cooling (>100 degrees C/ms) locks the molecule in a unique alternative conformation that is retained over weeks at room temperature. This reversible process is probed using fluorescent energy transfer. DNA switches operating out of equilibrium should be more amenable to nanotechnology applications and scalable integration.
authors.affiliation: Physico-chimie Curie, CNRS UMR168, Institut Curie, Section de Recherche, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Virgile
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viasnoff
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meller
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isambert
mesh_terms: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D049329:Nanostructures; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded