Giant DNA Origami
Triangles of DNA grown to millimeter size<url>
Scientists have managed to create three-dimensional crystals from DNA, the size of which reaches one millimeter.
Until now, researchers have not been able to obtain bulk structures from nucleic acids of such sizes. The authors' article (From molecular to macroscopic via the rational design of a self-assembled 3D DNA crystal) is published in the journal Nature. The study is briefly described in a press release of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
All the crystal structures created so far from DNA were two-dimensional. The authors of the new work decided to create a three-dimensional crystal consisting of flat subunits. The authors managed to connect the triangle-shaped subunits in such a way that the resulting structure turned out to be voluminous.
You can attach a piece of paper to the display and try to see a stereoscopic image of enlarged models of these crystals.
The "tricky" connection was provided by the so-called "sticky" ends of DNA. This term refers to a single strand of DNA, which ends in a double-stranded structure. DNA strands have the property of connecting to each other in a double helix, and the connection strictly depends on the chemical composition (sequence of elementary "bricks" of DNA). Triangles, from the vertices of which the "sticky" ends protrude with a specially selected sequence of "bricks", will connect to each other in a certain way.
The size of each triangle did not exceed thousandths of a millimeter. The largest crystals grown by scientists reached one millimeter. The strength of each triangle was ensured due to the balance of tension and compression forces in it. The parameters of these forces were also selected by changing the sequence of DNA "bricks".
In recent years, scientists have been actively working on technologies for obtaining three-dimensional structures based on DNA. In the future, they can be used to create nanoscale electronic devices or to design drug delivery systems into the body. One of the recent breakthroughs in the field of DNA origami has become boxes made of DNA with a lid that can be closed with a DNA key.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru07.09.2009