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用DNA进行纳米结构的自组装，在化学、分子计算和纳米技术的其他新兴领域有很好的应用前景。其中的一种方法尤为有希望，它被称为“DNA折纸法”（DNA origami）。由Paul Rothemund开发出的这种方法涉及一个单螺旋DNA长序列，在短的合成寡核苷酸帮助下，该序列被折叠，生成一个任意形状的平面纳米结构。 现在，Andersen等人通过生成一个可寻址的DNA盒子，将“DNA折纸法”延伸到了第三个维度。这个DNA盒子尺寸为42×36×36立方纳米，在有一个由外部施加的“钥匙”存在时可被打开。受控进入这一DNA纳米容器的内部，可能会产生几个有趣的应用，如可将其用作多序列信号的一个逻辑传感器，或用作纳米载货受控释放的一个逻辑传感器。 推荐原始出处： Nature 459, 73-76 (7 May 2009) | doi:10.1038/nature07971 Self-assembly of a nanoscale DNA box with a controllable lid Ebbe S. Andersen1,2,3, Mingdong Dong1,2,4,10, Morten M. Nielsen1,2,3, Kasper Jahn1,2,3, Ramesh Subramani1,2,4, Wael Mamdouh1,2,4, Monika M. Golas5,8, Bjoern Sander6,8, Holger Stark8,9, Cristiano L. P. Oliveira2,7, Jan Skov Pedersen2,7, Victoria Birkedal2, Flemming Besenbacher1,2,4, Kurt V. Gothelf1,2,7 & J?rgen Kjems1,2,3 1 Danish National Research Foundation: Centre for DNA Nanotechnology, 2 Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, 3 Department of Molecular Biology, 4 Department of Physics and Astronomy, 5 The Water and Salt Research Center, Institute of Anatomy, 6 Stereology and EM Research Laboratory, 7 Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark 8 Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, D-37077 G?ttingen, Germany 9 G?ttingen Centre for Molecular Biology, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, University of G?ttingen, D-37077 G?ttingen, Germany 10 Present address: Rowland Institute at Harvard, Harvard University, 100 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. The unique structural motifs and self-recognition properties of DNA can be exploited to generate self-assembling DNA nanostructures of specific shapes using a 'bottom-up' approach1. Several assembly strategies have been developed for building complex three-dimensional (3D) DNA nanostructures2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Recently, the DNA 'origami' method was used to build two-dimensional addressable DNA structures of arbitrary shape9 that can be used as platforms to arrange nanomaterials with high precision and specificity9, 10, 11, 12, 13. A long-term goal of this field has been to construct fully addressable 3D DNA nanostructures14, 15. Here we extend the DNA origami method into three dimensions by creating an addressable DNA box 42 36 36 nm3 in size that can be opened in the presence of externally supplied DNA 'keys'. We thoroughly characterize the structure of this DNA box using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy, and use fluorescence resonance energy transfer to optically monitor the opening of the lid. Controlled access to the interior compartment of this DNA nanocontainer could yield several interesting applications, for example as a logic sensor for multiple-sequence signals or for the controlled release of nanocargos. (责任编辑：Doctor001) |
