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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Stable DNA Motifs, 1D and 2D Nanostructures Constructed from Small Circular DNA Molecules
Published on: April 12, 2019
The self-sorting behavior of circular helicates and molecular knots and links
Jean-François Ayme1, Jonathon E Beves, Christopher J Campbell
1School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (UK) http://www.catenane.net.
Abstract:
We report on multicomponent self-sorting to form open circular helicates of different sizes from a primary monoamine, Fe(II) ions, and dialdehyde ligand strands that differ in length and structure by only two oxygen atoms. The corresponding closed circular helicates that are formed from a diamine--a molecular Solomon link and a pentafoil knot--also self-sort, but up to two of the Solomon-link-forming ligand strands can be accommodated within the pentafoil knot structure and are either incorporated or omitted depending on the stage that the components are mixed.
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