DNA molecules were twisted and folded into intricate three-dimensional shapes with nanoscale accuracy by researchers from Duke University and Arizona State University.
It's simple to envision yourself perusing a catalog of the tiniest pottery while looking at these small nanoscale formations, according to researchers from Duke University and Arizona State University (per Phys.org).
Researchers Make Small Things Using DNA
Some of the teams' inventions are revealed in a recent study, including tiny bowls, vases, and hollow spheres nested like the furnishings for a Russian nesting doll.
These works are examples of the potential of a novel open-source software system created by Duke Ph.D. candidate Dan Fu and his advisor John Reif. The program, described on December 23 in Science Advances, enables users to transform drawings or digital models of rounded forms into 3D DNA structures.
Raghu Pradeep Narayanan and Abhay Prasad, co-authors, constructed and visualized the DNA nanostructures in Arizona State professor Hao Yan's lab. The diameter of each minuscule hollow item is less than two-millionths of an inch. They could all fit on the head of a pin-more than 50,000 of them.
However, the researchers said per News Medical that these are not only nano-sculptures. The program may enable scientists to design microscopic medication delivery systems or molds for casting metal nanoparticles with precise shapes for solar cells, imaging in medicine, and other uses.
For most people, DNA serves as the genetic code for all living things, including trees and penguins. However, for groups like Reif's and Yan's, DNA is source code and building material rather than just a genetic information carrier.
The genetic code of DNA consists of four "letters," or bases, which couple together in our cells in a predictable manner to produce the rungs of the DNA ladder. The researchers have appropriated DNA's rigorous base-pairing requirements (A with T and C with G). They may "program" DNA strands to put themselves together into various forms by creating DNA strands with particular sequences.
Several hundred small DNA strands that bind to complimentary sequences on the long strands and "staple" them in place assist in folding one or a few lengthy sections of single-stranded DNA that are thousands of bases long.
DNA as Building Material
Since the 1980s, scientists have been experimenting with DNA as a building material. Mirage News said simple geometric forms with rough and blocky surfaces, such as cubes, pyramids, and soccer balls, were the earliest 3D shapes. However, it has been challenging to build structures with curved surfaces that are more comparable to those seen in nature. The team's goal is to increase the variety of forms that can be created using this technique.
Fu created DNAxiS, a piece of software, to accomplish it. The program is based on a DNA building method that Yan, who worked as a postdoc with Reif at Duke 20 years ago before joining the faculty at Arizona State, published in 2011. It functions similarly to how clay coils are used to create pots by coiling a long DNA double helix into concentric rings that stack on top of one another to form the shape of the item. The researchers also made it feasible to strengthen the structures with extra layers for greater stability.
Fu demonstrates their diverse shapes, including cones, gourds, and clover leaf patterns. Using algorithms to decide where to insert the small DNA "staples" to link the larger DNA rings together and secure the structure in place, DNAxiS is the first piece of software that enables users to construct such designs automatically.
For instance, the computer generates a list of DNA strands that would self-assemble into the appropriate configuration given a model of a mushroom form. After the DNA strands are created and combined in a test tube, the remainder just has to be heated and cooled. Within as little as 12 hours, the DNA combination "kind of magically folds up into the DNA nanostructure," according to Reif.
The researchers warned that it may be years before their DNA design program finds practical use in the lab or clinic. However, Reif noted that "it's a tremendous step forward in terms of automated creation of innovative three-dimensional structures."
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