title: Self-assembly of complex two-dimensional shapes from single-stranded DNA tiles.
abstract: Current methods in DNA nano-architecture have successfully engineered a variety of 2D and 3D structures using principles of self-assembly. In this article, we describe detailed protocols on how to fabricate sophisticated 2D shapes through the self-assembly of uniquely addressable single-stranded DNA tiles which act as molecular pixels on a molecular canvas. Each single-stranded tile (SST) is a 42-nucleotide DNA strand composed of four concatenated modular domains which bind to four neighbors during self-assembly. The molecular canvas is a rectangle structure self-assembled from SSTs. A prescribed complex 2D shape is formed by selecting the constituent molecular pixels (SSTs) from a 310-pixel molecular canvas and then subjecting the corresponding strands to one-pot annealing. Due to the modular nature of the SST approach we demonstrate the scalability, versatility and robustness of this method. Compared with alternative methods, the SST method enables a wider selection of information polymers and sequences through the use of de novo designed and synthesized short DNA strands.
authors.affiliation: Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University; bw@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University.
authors.forename: Michelle K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Vhudzijena
authors.affiliation: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robaszewski
authors.affiliation: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School; py@hms.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded