PROJECT ABSTRACT

 DNA Nanotechnology, and more specifically DNA Origami, presents an opportunity for bottom-up fabrication of nanoscale structures that can be tightly controlled.  This is achieved through the intrinsic self-assembling properties of DNA. These nanostructures have potential applications in a myriad of areas, including drug delivery, molecular machines and bioimaging. Since DNA is considered to be a renewable bioresource,  molecular nanosystem design and creation of  controllable DNA origami nanostructures can contribute highly to a low carbon economy due to low manufacturing costs and low carbon footprints compared to other techniques. However, current techniques to control DNA nanostructures have limitations in their ability to manipulate structures in real time. Using these design principles of DNA origami, we were able to create a nanohinge subunit structure that can be fine-tuned by distance and be polymerized. By stacking these hinge based structures back to back, the structure is manipulated along a linear plane, in the form of discrete extension and retraction. The careful design and mechanism shown through our project serve as a foundation for more complex tools and nanorobots in biomedical diagnostics.

 PROJECT VIDEO