title: Designed DNA molecules: principles and applications of molecular nanotechnology.
abstract: Long admired for its informational role in the cell, DNA is now emerging as an ideal molecule for molecular nanotechnology. Biologists and biochemists have discovered DNA sequences and structures with new functional properties, which are able to prevent the expression of harmful genes or detect macromolecules at low concentrations. Physical and computational scientists can design rigid DNA structures that serve as scaffolds for the organization of matter at the molecular scale, and can build simple DNA-computing devices, diagnostic machines and DNA motors. The integration of biological and engineering advances offers great potential for therapeutic and diagnostic applications, and for nanoscale electronic engineering.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Computer Science, 2366 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada. condon@cs.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Condon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D015195:Drug Design; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA