title: Light-Triggered Release of Bioactive Molecules from DNA Nanostructures.
abstract: Recent innovations in DNA nanofabrication allow the creation of intricately shaped nanostructures ideally suited for many biological applications. To advance the use of DNA nanotechnology for the controlled release of bioactive molecules, we report a general strategy that uses light to liberate encapsulated cargoes from DNA nanostructures with high spatiotemporal precision. Through the incorporation of a custom, photolabile cross-linker, we encapsulated cargoes ranging in size from small molecules to full-sized proteins within DNA nanocages and then released such cargoes upon brief exposure to light. This novel molecular uncaging technique offers a general approach for precisely releasing a large variety of bioactive molecules, allowing investigation into their mechanism of action, or finely tuned delivery with high temporal precision for broad biomedical and materials applications.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Richie E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kohman
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Susie S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Heng-Ye
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Man
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000737:chemistry; D008027:Light; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D055668:Photochemical Processes
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA origami; bioactive cargo; controlled release; nanotechnology; photolabile cross-linker; uncaging