Vesicle-Templated Self-Assembly of Programmable Freestanding Multi-μm DNA Shells

Area of Science:

• Synthetic Biology
• Nanotechnology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• DNA nanostructures are used to functionalize or scaffold lipid vesicles for synthetic cell applications.
• Existing methods often involve direct integration with lipid bilayers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a broadly applicable method for creating freestanding, membrane-mimicking DNA shells.
• To demonstrate the versatility of DNA architectures for shell formation.
• To explore new compartmentalization strategies for synthetic biology.

Main Methods:

• DNA shells assembled on giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs).
• Surfactant-mediated removal of liposomes to liberate freestanding DNA shells.
• Utilized DNA origami and nanostar-inspired DNA motifs as building blocks.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated freestanding DNA shells templated by GUVs.
• Demonstrated shell formation using both complex DNA origami and simpler DNA motifs.
• Showcased controlled multilayer shell formation via DNA origami's addressability.

Conclusions:

• The method provides a versatile approach to DNA-only shell compartments.
• These DNA shells mimic cell membrane geometry and size range.
• Offers a novel compartmentalization strategy for bottom-up synthetic biology.