title: Clamped Hybridization Chain Reactions for the Self-Assembly of Patterned DNA Hydrogels.
abstract: DNA hydrogels hold great potential for biological and biomedical applications owing to their programmable nature and macroscopic sizes. However, most previous studies involve spontaneous and homogenous gelation procedures in solution, which often lack precise control. A clamped hybridization chain reaction (C-HCR)-based strategy has been developed to guide DNA self-assembly to form macroscopic hydrogels. Analogous to catalysts in chemical synthesis or seeds in crystal growth, we introduced DNA initiators to induce the gelation process, including crosslinked self-assembly and clamped hybridization in three dimensions with spatial and temporal control. The formed hydrogels show superior mechanical properties. The use of printed, surface-confined DNA initiators was also demonstrated for fabricating 2D hydrogel patterns without relying on external confinements. This simple method can be used to construct DNA hydrogels with defined geometry, composition, and order for various bioapplications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Biology & Bioimaging Center, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CAS Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Jianbang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays (KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications Institution, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210046, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Biology & Bioimaging Center, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CAS Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Huajie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays (KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications Institution, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210046, China.
authors.forename: Shao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays (KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications Institution, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210046, China.
authors.forename: Lianhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays (KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications Institution, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210046, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Itamar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Willner
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Biology & Bioimaging Center, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CAS Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
authors.forename: Chunhai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D062028:Bioprinting / Q000379:methods; D002384:Catalysis; D003460:Crystallization; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D044367:Phase Transition
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA hydrogels; DNA nanotechnology; nucleic acid hybridization; self-assembly; sol-gel process