Emerging uses of DNA mechanical devices

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Aaron T. Blanchard, Emory University; Khalid Salaita, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-09-13
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aax3343
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Science
• Volume: 365
• Issue: 6458
• Start Page: 1080
• End Page: 1081
• Grant/Funding Information: National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation
• Keywords: DNA; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Biomechanical Phenomena; Nanotechnology; Nanostructures
• Research Categories: Biology, Genetics; Engineering, Mechanical; Engineering, Biomedical; Biology, Microbiology

Abstract

Modern machines, which are composed of force-generating motors, force sensors, and load-bearing structures, enabled the industrial revolution and are foundational to human civilization. Miniature micromachines are used in countless devices including cellphone microphones, implantable biosensors, and car and airplane accelerometers. Further miniaturization to the nanometer scale would enable the design of machines that can manipulate biomolecules and other nanomaterials for applications in medicine, biological research, and material development. Such machines are typically difficult or impossible to build due to their small size. However, a recent boom in the field of DNA nanotechnology, wherein synthetic DNA is used to tailor-make functional nanostructures, has produced extensive insight into the mechanical properties of DNA. This insight has propelled the emergence of a sub-field that we call “DNA mechanotechnology”, wherein DNA devices are engineered to generate, transmit, and sense mechanical forces at the nanoscale.