Multi-functional crystalline frameworks self-assembled from amphiphilic DNA nanostructures.

Several emerging technologies require the production of porous frameworks with a precisely controlled nanoscale morphology and stimuli-responsiveness. Due to the binding selectivity of nucleic acids, their facile synthesis and functionalization, DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a prime route for the production of programmable nanoscale materials. Nonetheless, the reliable preparation of crystalline, highly porous and fucntional 3D DNA frameworks remains elusive.
I will discuss a novel class of amphiphilic DNA building blocks dubbed “C-stars” that combine Watson-Crick base pairing and hydrophobic forces to self-assemble into 3D single crystals [1-3]. The lattice parameter of C-star crystals can be tuned over several nanometers, resulting in programmable pore size [2]. The robustness and versatility of our approach enables the modification of the amphiphilic building blocks with responsive motifs, which can be triggered to induce, among other effects, the isothermal melting of the network [2] and the reversible entrapment and release of protein cargoes [2], making C-stars an ideal platform for the design of smart nanomedical devices.

[1] Nano Letters 17 3276-3281 (2017)
[2] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 140 15384-15392 (2018)
[3] J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 31 074003 (2019)