Tivony Ran
Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2025 Feb;84:102567. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102567. Epub 2024 Dec 31.
Natural ion channels have long inspired the design of synthetic nanopores with protein-like features. A significant leap towards this endeavor has been made possible using DNA origami. The exploitation of DNA as a building material has enabled the construction of biomimetic DNA nanopores with a range of pore dimensions and stimuli-responsive capabilities. However, structural fluctuations and ion leakage across the walls of DNA nanopores greatly limit their use in various applications like label-free sensing and as a research tool in functional studies of ion channels. This review outlines some of the guiding principles for biomimetic engineering of DNA-based ion channels, discusses the weaknesses of current DNA nanopore designs, and presents recent efforts to alleviate these limitations.
天然离子通道长期以来一直启发着具有蛋白质样特征的合成纳米孔的设计。利用DNA折纸技术，在这一努力方向上取得了重大飞跃。将DNA用作建筑材料，使得构建具有一系列孔径尺寸和刺激响应能力的仿生DNA纳米孔成为可能。然而，DNA纳米孔壁上的结构波动和离子泄漏极大地限制了它们在诸如无标记传感等各种应用中的使用，以及作为离子通道功能研究的研究工具的使用。本综述概述了基于DNA的离子通道仿生工程的一些指导原则，讨论了当前DNA纳米孔设计的弱点，并介绍了最近为缓解这些限制所做的努力。
