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Assembly of Gold Nanorods into Chiral Plasmonic Metamolecules Using DNA Origami Templates
Published on: March 5, 2019
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Effect of Staple Age on DNA Origami Nanostructure Assembly and Stability
Charlotte Kielar1, Yang Xin1, Xiaodan Xu1
1Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 19, 2019
Summary
Aged DNA origami staples, even after years of storage, do not hinder self-assembly. However, older staples can reduce nanostructure stability under harsh conditions due to nucleobase damage.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- DNA origami nanostructures are increasingly used in research and applications like nanoelectronics and drug delivery.
- Real-world applications often expose DNA origami to harsh conditions, impacting structural integrity.
- Long-term storage of DNA origami components is crucial for mass production and maintaining structural integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of DNA staple age on the self-assembly and stability of DNA origami nanostructures.
- To assess the effects of long-term staple storage on DNA origami performance under various conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to analyze DNA origami nanostructures.
- Simulated harsh processing conditions using different sample preparation protocols.
- Employed mass spectrometry to analyze aged staple mixtures for fragmentation.
Main Results:
- DNA origami self-assembly is not impeded by staple solutions stored at -20 °C for several years.
- Staple age can negatively affect DNA origami stability under harsh treatment, depending on the specific nanostructure.
- Mass spectrometry showed no staple fragmentation, suggesting nucleobase damage as the cause of reduced stability.
Conclusions:
- DNA origami staples can be stored long-term without compromising self-assembly.
- Nucleobase damage in aged staples weakens base-pairing interactions, reducing duplex stability and nanostructure resilience.
- Understanding staple aging is critical for reliable DNA origami applications and mass production.
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