The Brownian and Flow-Driven Rotational Dynamics of a Multicomponent DNA Origami-Based Rotor.

Nanomechanical devices are becoming increasingly popular due to the very diverse field of potential applications, including nanocomputing, robotics, and drug delivery. DNA is one of the most promising building materials to realize complex 3D structures at the nanoscale level. Several mechanical DNA origami structures have already been designed capable of simple operations such as a DNA box with a controllable lid, bipedal walkers, and cargo sorting robots. However, the nanomechanical properties of mechanically interlinked DNA nanostructures that are in general highly deformable have yet to be extensively experimentally evaluated. In this work, a multicomponent DNA origami-based rotor is created and fully characterized by electron microscopy under negative stain and cryo preparations. The nanodevice is further immobilized on a microfluidic chamber and its Brownian and flow-driven rotational behaviors are analyzed in real time by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. The rotation in previous DNA rotors based either on strand displacement, electric field or Brownian motion. This study is the first to attempt to manipulate the dynamics of an artificial nanodevice with fluidic flow as a natural force.