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Directed Self‐Assembly of DNA Tiles into Complex Nanocages
Author(s) -
Tian Cheng,
Li Xiang,
Liu Zhiyu,
Jiang Wen,
Wang Guansong,
Mao Chengde
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201400377
Subject(s) - nanocages , nanotechnology , dna nanotechnology , self assembly , dna origami , encapsulation (networking) , scope (computer science) , dna , tile , nanostructure , materials science , computer science , chemistry , computer network , biochemistry , composite material , programming language , catalysis
Tile‐based self‐assembly is a powerful method in DNA nanotechnology and has produced a wide range of well‐defined nanostructures. But the resulting structures are relatively simple. Increasing the structural complexity and the scope of the accessible structures is an outstanding challenge in molecular self‐assembly. A strategy to partially address this problem by introducing flexibility into assembling DNA tiles and employing directing agents to control the self‐assembly process is presented. To demonstrate this strategy, a range of DNA nanocages have been rationally designed and constructed. Many of them can not be assembled otherwise. All of the resulting structures have been thoroughly characterized by gel electrophoresis and cryogenic electron microscopy. This strategy greatly expands the scope of accessible DNA nanostructures and would facilitate technological applications such as nanoguest encapsulation, drug delivery, and nanoparticle organization.