Mastering the complexity of DNA nanostructures.
The self-assembly of oligodeoxynucleotides is a versatile and powerful tool for the construction of objects in the nanoscale. The strictly information-driven pairing of DNA fragments can be used to rationally design and build nanostructures with planned topologies and geometries. Taking advantage of the steadily expanding library of well-characterized DNA motifs, several examples of structures with different dimensionalities have appeared in the literature in the past few years, laying the foundations for a promising DNA-mediated, bottom-up approach to nanotechnology. This article focuses on recent developments in this area of research and proposes a classification of DNA nanostructures based on topological considerations in addition to describing strategies for tackling the inherent complexities of such an endeavor.
Brucale
Marco
M
Department of Biochemistry, G. Moruzzi University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, Bologna 40126, Italy.
Zuccheri
Giampaolo
G
Samorì
Bruno
B
D001665:Binding Sites; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D004247:DNA