Electrotransfection of Polyamine Folded DNA Origami Structures.
DNA origami structures are artificial molecular nanostructures in which DNA double helices are forced into a closely packed configuration by a multitude of DNA strand crossovers. We show that three different types of origami structures (a flat sheet, a hollow tube, and a compact origami block) can be formed in magnesium-free buffer solutions containing low (<1 mM) concentrations of the condensing agent spermidine. Much like in DNA condensation, the amount of spermidine required for origami folding is proportional to the DNA concentration. At excessive amounts, the structures aggregate and precipitate. In contrast to origami structures formed in conventional buffers, the resulting structures are stable in the presence of high electric field pulses, such as those commonly used for electrotransfection experiments. We demonstrate that spermidine-stabilized structures are stable in cell lysate and can be delivered into mammalian cells via electroporation.
Physik-Department E14, Technische Universität München , 85748 Garching, Germany.
Aradhana
A
Chopra
Physik-Department E14, Technische Universität München , 85748 Garching, Germany.
Swati
S
Krishnan
Physik-Department E14, Technische Universität München , 85748 Garching, Germany.
Friedrich C
FC
Simmel
D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D004560:Electricity; D018274:Electroporation; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D049329:Nanostructures; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011073:Polyamines
D011073:Polyamines; D004247:DNA
DNA condensation; DNA origami; cellular delivery; electric fields; electroporation; polyamines