Sobey Thomas L, Simmel Friedrich C
Physik Department, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Methods Mol Biol. 2011;749:13-32. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-142-0_2.
Programed molecular structures allow us to research and make use of physical, chemical, and biological effects at the nanoscale. They are an example of the "bottom-up" approach to nanotechnology, with structures forming through self-assembly. DNA is a particularly useful molecule for this purpose, and some of its advantages include parallel (as opposed to serial) assembly, naturally occurring "tools," such as enzymes and proteins for making modifications and attachments, and structural dependence on base sequence. This allows us to develop one, two, and three dimensional structures that are interesting for their fundamental physical and chemical behavior, and for potential applications such as biosensors, medical diagnostics, molecular electronics, and efficient light-harvesting systems. We describe five techniques that allow one to assemble and image such structures: concentration measurement by ultraviolet absorption, titration gel electrophoresis, thermal annealing, fluorescence microscopy, and atomic force microscopy in fluids.
程序化分子结构使我们能够研究和利用纳米尺度上的物理、化学和生物效应。它们是纳米技术中“自下而上”方法的一个例子，结构通过自组装形成。DNA是用于此目的的一种特别有用的分子，其一些优点包括平行（而非串行）组装、天然存在的“工具”，如用于进行修饰和连接的酶和蛋白质，以及对碱基序列的结构依赖性。这使我们能够开发出一维、二维和三维结构，这些结构因其基本的物理和化学行为以及诸如生物传感器、医学诊断、分子电子学和高效光收集系统等潜在应用而备受关注。我们描述了五种用于组装和成像此类结构的技术：通过紫外吸收进行浓度测量、滴定凝胶电泳、热退火、荧光显微镜以及流体中的原子力显微镜。
