DNA brick crystals with prescribed depths

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Yonggang Ke, Emory University; Luvena L. Ong, Harvard University; Wei Sun, Harvard University; Jie Song, Aarhus University; Mingdong Dong, Aarhus University; William M. Shih, Harvard University; Peng Yin, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-11-01
• Publisher: Nature Research (part of Springer Nature)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2014, Springer Nature
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NCHEM.2083
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Nature Chemistry
• ISSN: 1755-4330
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: 994
• End Page: 1002
• Grant/Funding Information: L.L.O. is supported by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.; This work is supported by an ONR Young Investigator Program Award N000141110914; ONR Grants N000141010827, N000141410610, N000141310593; an ARO Grant W911NF1210238; an NSF CAREER Award CCF1054898; an NSF Expedition in Computing Award CCF1317291; NSF Grants CCF1162459, CMMI1333215, CMMI1334109, CMMI1344915; an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award 1DP2OD007292; and a Wyss Institute Faculty Startup Fund to P.Y.; and by a Wyss Institute Faculty Grant; ARO MURI grant W911NF1210420; ONR Grants N000014091118 and N000141010241; and an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award 1DP2OD004641 to W.M.S.; M.D. acknowledges financial support from the Danish National Research Foundation, and the Villum Foundation.; J.S. acknowledges AUFF founding from Aarhus University and Niels Bohr Foundation from The Royal Danish Academy of Science.
• Keywords: NANOSCALE SHAPES; ARRAYS; NANOSTRUCTURES; Chemistry; DESIGN; Science & Technology; ORIGAMI; JUNCTIONS; Physical Sciences; BLOCK-COPOLYMERS; SINGLE-STRANDED-DNA; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; FOLDING DNA; GOLD NANOPARTICLES
• Research Categories: Chemistry, General; Engineering, Biomedical

Abstract

The ability to assemble functional materials with precise spatial arrangements is important for applications ranging from protein crystallography to photovoltaics. Here, we describe a general framework for constructing two-dimensional crystals with prescribed depths and sophisticated three-dimensional features. The crystals are self-assembled from single-stranded DNA components called DNA bricks. We demonstrate the experimental construction of DNA brick crystals that can grow to micrometre size in their lateral dimensions with precisely controlled depths up to 80 nm. They can be designed to pack DNA helices at angles parallel or perpendicular to the plane of the crystal and to display user-specified sophisticated three-dimensional nanoscale features, such as continuous or discontinuous cavities and channels.