This approach has the potential to lead to the use of designed DNA crystals as scaffolds for the crystallization of macromolecules, as materials for use as catalysts, as molecular sieves, or as scaffolds for the assembly of molecular electronic components or biochips in DNA-based computers. Similarly, biological-molecule-based scaffolding could take advantage of the unique structural characteristics of RNA molecules, of polypeptide chains, or of the highly specific interactions that occur between DNA and proteins or between RNA and proteins.
Devices that are currently in use to control the interactions of DNA on surfaces can have broader applications for controlling nanoassembly. These devices use electric fields to control the movement of particles toward or away from microscopic sites on the device surface. Charged biological molecules (DNA, RNA, protein) and analytes, cells, and other nanoscale or microscale charged particles can be precisely organized.
This approach has the potential to lead to the use of designed DNA crystals as scaffolds for the crystallization of macromolecules, as materials for use as catalysts, as molecular sieves, or as scaffolds for the assembly of molecular electronic components or biochips in DNA-based computers. Similarly, biological-molecule-based scaffolding could take advantage of the unique structural characteristics of RNA molecules, of polypeptide chains, or of the highly specific interactions that occur between DNA and proteins or between RNA and proteins.
Devices that are currently in use to control the interactions of DNA on surfaces can have broader applications for controlling nanoassembly. These devices use electric fields to control the movement of particles toward or away from microscopic sites on the device surface. Charged biological molecules (DNA, RNA, protein) and analytes, cells, and other nanoscale or microscale charged particles can be precisely organized.