title: A bipedal DNA motor that travels back and forth between two DNA origami tiles.
abstract: In this work, the successful operation of a dynamic DNA device constructed from two DNA origami building blocks is reported. The device includes a bipedal walker that strides back and forth between the two origami tiles. Two different DNA origami tiles are first prepared separately; they are then joined together in a controlled manner by a set of DNA strands to form a stable track in high yield as confirmed by single-molecule fluorescence (SMF). Second, a bipedal DNA motor, initially attached to one of the two origami units and operated by sequential interaction with "fuel" and "antifuel" DNA strands, moves from one origami tile to another and then back again. The operational yield, measured by SMF, was similar to that of a motor operating on a similar track embedded in a single origami tile, confirming that the transfer across the junction from one tile to the other does not result in dissociation that is any more than that of steps on a single tile. These results demonstrate that moving parts can reliably travel from one origami unit to another, and it demonstrates the feasibility of dynamic DNA molecular machines that are made of more than a single origami building block. This study is a step toward the development of motors that can stride over micrometer distances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel.
authors.forename: Miran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liber
authors.forename: Toma E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Tomov
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tsukanov
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Eyal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nir
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D019281:Dimerization; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA nanotechnology; DNA origami; molecular machines; molecular motors; single-molecule fluorescence