Virus-protein
-coated DNA origami nanostructures. With the help of protein encapsulation,
DNA origamis can
be transported into human cells much more efficiently.
Image: Veikko
Linko and Mauri Kostiainen.
Self-assembled DNA nanostructures can be used in
molecular-scale diagnostics and as smart drug-delivery vehicles.
(September 24, 2015) Researchers
from Aalto University have published an article in the recent Trends in
Biotechnology journal. The article discusses how DNA molecules can be assembled
into tailored and complex nanostructures, and further, how these structures can
find uses in therapeutics and bionanotechnological applications. In the review
article, the researchers outline the superior properties of DNA nanostructures,
and how these features enable the development of efficient biological
DNA-nanomachines. Moreover, these DNA nanostructures provide new applications
in molecular medicine, such as novel approaches in tackling cancer. Tailored
DNA structures could find targeted cells and release their molecular payload
(drugs or antibodies) selectively into these cells.
“Nowadays, software and techniques to design and simulate
DNA nanostructures are extremely powerful and user-friendly, and thus,
researchers can easily construct their own DNA-objects for various uses. The
big boom in the field of structural DNA nanotechnology happened in 2006, when
Paul Rothemund introduced a technique dubbed ‘DNA origami’. This method is the
starting point for practically all other straightforward design approaches
available today”, describes Veikko Linko, an Academy of Finland postdoctoral
researcher from Biohybrid Materials Group.