Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026

08:59
DNA Origami-Mediated Substrate Nanopatterning of Inorganic Structures for Sensing Applications
Published on: September 27, 2019
DNA as supramolecular scaffold for functional molecules: progress in DNA nanotechnology
Thomas J Bandy1, Ashley Brewer, Jonathan R Burns
1University of Southampton, School of Chemistry, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
Chemical Society Reviews
|August 10, 2010
Summary
Oligonucleotides are emerging as versatile scaffolds for creating functional nanomaterials. This review highlights recent advances in covalently modifying DNA for diverse applications.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
Background:
- Oligonucleotides are increasingly utilized as scaffolds in supramolecular chemistry.
- Functional molecule design at the nanoscale is a rapidly advancing research area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent progress in the covalent modification of DNA for nanomaterial design.
- To compare different attachment points for modifications on DNA strands.
Main Methods:
- Focus on covalent modifications of DNA, excluding non-covalent interactions.
- Analysis of both terminal and internal DNA modifications.
- Comparison of attachment sites: nucleobase, sugar moiety, and phosphodiester backbone.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of diverse functionalities incorporated into DNA strands via covalent modification.
- Examples highlight the versatility of modified oligonucleotides.
Conclusions:
- Covalent modification of oligonucleotides offers a powerful strategy for creating functional nanomaterials.
- The choice of attachment site influences the resulting molecular properties and applications.
Related Concept Videos
The DNA Helix
Overview
The DNA Helix
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material responsible for passing traits from generation to generation in all organisms and most viruses. DNA is composed of two strands of nucleotides that wind around each other to form a spring-like structure called a double helix. However, the double helix is not perfectly symmetrical. Instead, there are regularly occurring grooves in the structure. The major groove occurs where the sugar-phosphate backbones are relatively far apart. This space...
Nucleic Acid Structure
The pentose sugar in DNA is deoxyribose, while in RNA the pentose sugar is ribose. The difference between the sugars is the presence of the hydroxyl group on the ribose's second carbon and a hydrogen on the deoxyribose's second carbon. The phosphate residue attaches to the hydroxyl group of the 5′ carbon of one sugar and the hydroxyl group of the 3′ carbon of the sugar of the next nucleotide, which forms a 5′ to 3′ phosphodiester linkage.
DNA Structure
DNA has a double-helix structure. The...
DNA Structure
DNA has a double-helix structure. The...
DNA as a Genetic Template
Two structural features of the DNA molecule provide a basis for the mechanisms of heredity: the four nucleotide bases and its double-stranded nature. The Watson-Crick model of double-helical DNA structure, proposed in 1952, drew heavily upon the X-ray crystallography work of researchers Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in 1962. Franklin was, controversially, excluded from the prize for...
DNA Packaging
Overview
Next-generation Sequencing
The first human genome sequencing project cost $2.7 billion and was declared complete in 2003, after 15 years of international cooperation and collaboration between several research teams and funding agencies. Today, with the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies, the cost and time of sequencing a human genome have dropped over 100 fold.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.

