DNA Nanotechnology Helps Construct Synthetic Membrane Channels

As reported in the journal Science, physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the University of Michigan have shown that synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through "DNA nanotechnology."
This technique employs DNA molecules as programmable building materials for custom-designed, self-assembling, nanometer-scale structures. The researchers present evidence that their nature-inspired nanostructures may also behave like biological ion channels. Their results could mark a step toward applications of synthetic membrane channels as molecular sensors, antimicrobial agents, and drivers of novel nanodevices.

This 3-D print shows the structure of a functional synthetic membrane channel constructed through DNA nanotechnology -- that is, using DNA molecules as programmable building materials for custom-designed, self-assembling nanometer-scale structures. This DNA-based membrane channel consists of a needle-like stem 42 nanometers long with an internal diameter of just two nanometers, partly sheathed by a barrel-shaped cap. A ring of cholesterol units around the edge of the cap helps the device "dock" to a lipid membrane while the stem sticks through it, forming a channel that appears capable of behaving like a biological ion channel. The device is formed by 54 double-helical DNA domains on a honeycomb lattice. (Credit: Dietz Lab, TU Muenchen; copyright TU Muenchen)

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