DNA Condensates via Entanglement of String-like Structures Based on Anisotropic Nanotetrahedra

Area of Science:

• Biomolecular chemistry
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Biomolecular condensates are gaining interest for their bioinspired functions.
• The impact of structural properties, particularly anisotropicity, on condensate behavior is not well understood.
• Anisotropic biological condensates like heterochromatin exist, yet their formation principles are understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the formation and properties of DNA condensates using anisotropic building blocks.
• To explore the role of component anisotropicity in condensate self-assembly and behavior.
• To assess the potential of these DNA condensates as stimuli-responsive materials.

Main Methods:

• Design and synthesis of anisotropic tetrahedron-shaped DNA nanostructures (Tetra-motifs) with distinct sticky ends.
• Formation of DNA condensates through linker-mediated connections and entanglement of Tetra-motifs.
• Characterization of condensate properties using mechanical and microfluidic experiments.
• Investigation of stimuli-responsive behavior (UV irradiation, temperature).

Main Results:

• Rigid and anisotropic Tetra-motifs concatenated into extended, string-like structures.
• String-like structures formed condensates primarily through entanglement, without requiring multivalent cross-linking.
• The resulting string-based condensates demonstrated high deformability.
• Condensates showed controlled responses to external stimuli like UV light and temperature variations.

Conclusions:

• Anisotropic DNA nanostructures can self-assemble into string-like entities that form condensates via entanglement.
• These string-based condensates exhibit unique mechanical properties and responsiveness to external stimuli.
• This study provides insights into structure-property relationships in biomolecular condensates and suggests potential applications in stimuli-responsive materials.