Complex DNA Nanostructures from Oligonucleotide Ensembles

Abstract

The first synthetic DNA nanostructures were created by self-assembly of a small number of oligonucleotides. Introduction of the DNA origami method provided a new paradigm for designing and creating two- and three-dimensional DNA nanostructures by folding a large single-stranded DNA and ‘stapling’ it together with a library of oligonucleotides. Despite its power and wide-ranging implementation, the DNA origami technique suffers from some limitations. Foremost among these is the limited number of useful single-stranded scaffolds of biological origin. This report describes a new approach to creating large DNA nanostructures exclusively from synthetic oligonucleotides. The essence of this approach is to replace the single-stranded scaffold in DNA origami with a library of oligonucleotides termed “scaples” (<u>sca</u>ffold sta<u>ples</u>). Scaples eliminate the need for scaffolds of biological origin and create new opportunities for producing larger and more diverse DNA nanostructures as well as simultaneous assembly of distinct structures in a “single-pot” reaction