Addressable Molecular Node Assembly - Functional DNA Nanostructures

The use of nucleic acids as a nanomaterial is becoming increasingly widespread due to the suitability of the hydrogen-bonding patterns and sequence specificity inherent to the double-helix. As minimisation of size becomes ever more important it is imperative to employ nucleic acids in the most efficient and functional manner possible. To this end we have constructed DNA nanostructures on what may be the smallest possible scale (basic components of just 10 bp) that not only reliably self-assemble but also where each unit of a 2-dimensional DNA network can be uniquely identified and selectively functionalized.(1,2.3) On this length scale and using full addressability of the network to engrave specific pathways on the scaffold, energy and electron transfer become efficient for potential information storage applications.(4).