School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Sci Robot. 2024 Nov 27;9(96):eadp2309. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.adp2309.
In cells, proteins rapidly self-assemble into sophisticated nanomachines. Bioinspired self-assembly approaches, such as DNA origami, have been used to achieve complex three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures and devices. However, current synthetic systems are limited by low yields in hierarchical assembly and challenges in rapid and efficient reconfiguration between diverse structures. Here, we developed a modular system of DNA origami "voxels" with programmable 3D connections. We demonstrate multifunctional pools of up to 12 unique voxels that can assemble into many shapes, prototyping 50 structures. Programmable switching of local connections between flexible and rigid states achieved rapid and reversible reconfiguration of global structures in three dimensions. Multistep assembly pathways were then explored to increase the yield. Voxels were assembled via flexible chain intermediates into rigid structures, increasing yield up to 100-fold. We envision that foldable chains of DNA origami voxels can achieve increased complexity in reconfigurable nanomaterials, providing modular components for the assembly of nanorobotic systems with future applications in synthetic biology, assembly of inorganic materials, and nanomedicine.
在细胞中，蛋白质迅速自我组装成复杂的纳米机器。受生物启发的自组装方法，如 DNA 折纸术，已被用于实现复杂的三维 (3D) 纳米结构和器件。然而，目前的合成系统受到层次组装中产量低和不同结构之间快速有效重新配置的挑战的限制。在这里，我们开发了一种具有可编程 3D 连接的 DNA 折纸“体素”的模块化系统。我们展示了多达 12 个独特体素的多功能池，这些体素可以组装成许多形状，原型设计了 50 种结构。通过在柔性和刚性状态之间灵活切换局部连接，实现了三维全局结构的快速和可逆重构。然后探索了多步组装途径来提高产量。体素通过柔性链中间体组装成刚性结构，产量增加了 100 倍。我们设想，DNA 折纸体素的可折叠链可以在可重构纳米材料中实现更高的复杂性，为具有未来在合成生物学、无机材料组装和纳米医学中应用的纳米机器人系统的组装提供模块化组件。
