Programmable self-assembly of nanotubes using DNA origami nanoparticles

Many proteins and RNA molecules use shape-specific interactions to assemble functional structures in biological systems. The intricate folds and complex interactions between such biomolecules endow them with tunable valence, specificity, and prescribed local curvature, which are all crucial for assembling complicated structures. However, designing and producing synthetic particles with a similar level of structural information is difficult. In this talk, I will show that such geometrical features can be programmed into nanometer-scale synthetic particles using DNA origami. More specifically, we design and synthesize triangular subunits which are roughly 50 nanometers in size and can assemble into rigid tubules of a user-prescribed width, reaching a few micrometers in length. Because the binding angles at the interaction sites can be independently tuned, we can assemble a variety of tubules with widths between 100 to 400 nm. Interestingly, we find that there is a distribution in the width and the chirality of the assembled tubes, suggesting that our DNA origami colloids are flexible. Finally, we introduce a possible route to limit unwanted tubule structures by increasing the number of particle types used in the assembly.