Department of Chemistry, Institute for Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, WC1H0AJ, London, UK.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Dec 23;61(52):e202210886. doi: 10.1002/anie.202210886. Epub 2022 Nov 28.
Controlling biological molecular processes with light is of interest in biological research and biomedicine, as light allows precise and selective activation in a non-invasive and non-toxic manner. A molecular process benefitting from light control is the transport of cargo across biological membranes, which is conventionally achieved by membrane-puncturing barrel-shaped nanopores. Yet, there is also considerable gain in constructing more complex gated pores. Here, we pioneer a synthetic light-gated nanostructure which regulates transport across membranes via a controllable lid. The light-triggered nanopore is self-assembled from six pore-forming DNA strands and a lid strand carrying light-switchable azobenzene molecules. Exposure to light opens the pore to allow small-molecule transport across membranes. Our light-triggered pore advances biomimetic chemistry and DNA nanotechnology and may be used in biotechnology, biosensing, targeted drug release, or synthetic cells.
用光控制生物分子过程在生物研究和生物医学中很有意义，因为光可以以非侵入性和无毒的方式进行精确和选择性的激活。受益于光控制的分子过程是货物跨生物膜的运输，这通常通过膜穿孔的桶状纳米孔来实现。然而，构建更复杂的门控孔也有相当大的收益。在这里，我们开创了一种合成的光控纳米结构，通过可控盖来调节跨膜运输。光触发的纳米孔由六个形成孔的 DNA 链和一个带有光开关偶氮苯分子的盖链自组装而成。暴露在光下会打开孔，允许小分子跨膜运输。我们的光触发孔推进了仿生化学和 DNA 纳米技术，并可用于生物技术、生物传感、靶向药物释放或合成细胞。
