%0 Journal Article
%T A Structurally Variable Hinged Tetrahedron Framework from DNA Origami
%A David M. Smith
%A Verena Sch¨¹ller
%A Carsten Forthmann
%A Robert Schreiber
%A Philip Tinnefeld
%A Tim Liedl
%J Journal of Nucleic Acids
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.4061/2011/360954
%X Nanometer-sized polyhedral wire-frame objects hold a wide range of potential applications both as structural scaffolds as well as a basis for synthetic nanocontainers. The utilization of DNA as basic building blocks for such structures allows the exploitation of bottom-up self-assembly in order to achieve molecular programmability through the pairing of complementary bases. In this work, we report on a hollow but rigid tetrahedron framework of 75£¿nm strut length constructed with the DNA origami method. Flexible hinges at each of their four joints provide a means for structural variability of the object. Through the opening of gaps along the struts, four variants can be created as confirmed by both gel electrophoresis and direct imaging techniques. The intrinsic site addressability provided by this technique allows the unique targeted attachment of dye and/or linker molecules at any point on the structure's surface, which we prove through the superresolution fluorescence microscopy technique DNA PAINT. 1. Introduction The design and self-assembly of DNA strands into precisely defined objects on the nanometer scale has emerged as a promising technique in the field of nanotechnology. Stemming from the initial idea of generating periodic lattices from DNA [1], the concurrent exploitation of (i) complimentary base pairing between short strands, (ii) branch-like Holliday junctions, and (iii) the inherent helical twist of double-stranded DNA complexes has allowed for the assembly of small, identical motifs which constitute the repeating unit cells of periodic two-dimensional sheets or three-dimensional crystal structures extending nearly to the millimeter scale [2¨C5]. The development of techniques to build rigid, three-dimensional DNA-based structures is, however, an important aspect to the future utilization of this methodology in nanofabrication [6¨C11]. While many attempts to construct simple three-dimensional polyhedra have been fraught with problems of instability, unwanted by-products, low-yield, or overly complex synthesis strategies, the recent utilization of hierarchical assembly schemes [12] and the DNA origami technique [13, 14] has provided a path towards the relatively simple generation of uniform populations. The DNA origami technique is based on the use of a long, usually circular ¡°scaffold¡± strand, which is folded and clamped into a desired shape by hybridization with hundreds of shorter ¡°staple¡± oligonucleotides [13]. In contrast to earlier schemes for generating nanostructures from synthesized oligonucleotides, the utilization of a viral
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2011/360954/