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Arranging nanoscale components in space with DNA origami - Prof. Tim Liedl, LMU Munich
2011-08-12 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Small Lecture Theatre, Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics
In nature, DNA serves as the carrier of hereditary information. In contrast, the field of DNA nanotechnology employs DNA as building material for self-assembling nanoscopic objects [1]. The technique known as DNA origami introduced by Paul Rothemund in 2006 [2] opened up new routes for the assembly of nanoscale objects in space. This method uses hundreds of synthetic oligonucleotides to fold a long DNA single strand into arbitrary two-dimensional shapes and patterns.
I will comment on recent advances of three-dimensional DNA origami [3] and some of its possible applications. In particular, I will describe the arrangement of nanoscale objects such as fluorophores [4] and nanoparticles with unprecedented precision.

[1] N. C. Seeman, Journal of Theoretical Biology 99, 237 (1982).
[2] P. W. K. Rothemund, Nature 440, 287(2006).
[3] S. M. Douglas et al., Nature 459, 414 (2009).
[4] I. Stein et al., ChemPhysChem. 12, 689 (2011).
