Researchers at Aahrus University, Denmark, report three new DNA actuators with unprecedented size and complexity (see figure for linear, triangular, and quadrilateral actuators). An actuator is a movable device such as a motor, and here extension of the actuator demonstrates potential for controlling motion at the nanoscale.
Kurt Gothelf and co-workers outline the construction of mechanical actuators based on DNA sliding through sequence homologogy. These DNA structures were characterized by gel electrophoresis and Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopy to clearly demonstrate the designed motion of the extended actuators.
Image: © Wiley-VCH
- Extended DNA Tile Actuators,
Martin Kristiansen, Mille B. L. Kryger, Zhao Zhang, Niels V. Voigt, Victoria Birkedal, Kurt V. Gothelf,
ChemPlusChem 2012.
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201200149
This article is available for free as part of the ChemPlusChem free trial.
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