Rapid Chiral Assembly of Rigid DNA Building Blocks for Molecular Nanofabrication

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1120367
• Publication Date: 2005-12-08T22:33:52Z
• Authors: R. P. Goodman; I. A. T. Schaap; C. F. Tardin; C. M. Erben; R. M. Berry; C. F. Schmidt; A. J. Turberfield
• Keywords: Models, Molecular; Base Sequence; Chemical Phenomena; Molecular Structure; Chemistry, Physical; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Stereoisomerism; DNA; 02 engineering and technology; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Elasticity; Nanostructures; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; Nanotechnology; Nucleic Acid Conformation; 0210 nano-technology; Base Pairing; Dimerization

Practical components for three-dimensional molecular nanofabrication must be simple to produce, stereopure, rigid, and adaptable. We report a family of DNA tetrahedra, less than 10 nanometers on a side, that can self-assemble in seconds with near-quantitative yield of one diastereomer. They can be connected by programmable DNA linkers. Their triangulated architecture confers structural stability; by compressing a DNA tetrahedron with an atomic force microscope, we have measured the axial compressibility of DNA and observed the buckling of the double helix under high loads.