Cation-Dependent Switching of DNA.pdfVIP

Communication 1060Cation-Dependent Switching of DNA NanostructuresaYu He, Ye Tian, Yi Chen, Tao Ye, Chengde Mao*DNA is a versatile building material for nanoconstruction because of its remarkable molec- ular-recognition capability and well-predicted duplex conformation. A number of DNA motifs have been engineered, which can assemble into well-defined nanostructures in Mg2t-containing buffer solution. XRD studies reveal that the DNA conformation is slightly influenced by divalent cations (such as Mg2t or Ca2t). This phenomenon can be utilized in DNA self- assembly for regulating self-assembled DNA nano- structures. As an initial step, a symmetric cross motif forms flat, periodic, 2D lattices in Mg2t-containing solutions, but long nanofibers in Ca2t-containing solutions. The obtained DNA fibers can serve as tem- plates to fabricate CaCO3 nanotubes and nanowires.Introduction Structural DNA nanotechnology is a rational self-assembly approach to control matters at the nanoscale.[1–12] Its development relies on two critical properties of DNA: superb molecular recognition and its well-established double helix structure. We recently engineered a family of symmetric DNA star motifs, whose members have different numbers (three,[13,14] four,[15,16] and six[17]) of arms. The designs of these DNA motifs are well optimized so that each motif can readily self-assemble into large, periodic, two-dimensional (2D) arrays. Divalent cations help DNA strands to overcome electrostatic interactions between them and are required for most self-assembled DNA nanostructures. Traditionally, Mg2t is the dominant divalent metal ionY. He, Y. Tian, Y. Chen, T. Ye, C. Mao Purdue University, Department of Chemistry, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA E-mail: mao@ a : Supporting information for this article is available at the bottom of the article’s abstract page, which can be accessed from the journal’s homepage at http://www.mbs-journal.de, or from the author. Macromol. Biosci. 2007, 7,