THE DESIGN AND ENGINEERING OF NUCLEIC-ACID NANOSCALE ASSEMBLIES

It is possible to design DNA molecules that can form unusual structure s and topologies. Stable DNA-branched junctions have been used to cons truct polyhedral catenated molecules with the connectivities of a cube and of a truncated octahedron. The truncated octahedron has been cons tructed following a solid-support-based methodology. Branched-DNA mole cules are flexible, suggesting that triangular and deltahedral DNA obj ects should be favored as the components of two- and three-dimensional nucleic acid arrays. DNA polyhedra are complex catenanes. The enginee ring of single-stranded DNA knots and catenanes exploits the fact that a node can be equated with a half-turn of DNA.