Seeking for inspiration from Nature’s highly sophisticated systems is indubitably one of the main driving forces throughout the scientific community. It is the unique recognition capability of DNA that gives rise to all kind of DNA nanostructures, culminating in the DNA origami methodology. We believe that the unprecedented addressability of DNA origami templates can be exploited to push the limits of polymer chemistry towards the organization of polymeric structures on the nanoscale. Polydopamine is a bioinspired polymer that is highly esteemed for its adhesiveness to a wide variety of surfaces, however, it self-polymerizes under slightly alkaline conditions in an uncontrolled manner. By pioneering the field of light-mediated polymerizations on DNA origami, we could restrain the polymerization of dopamine to designated areas on the DNA template. Through the anchoring of the photosensitizer at predetermined positions within the DNA origami framework, polymer was formed in distinct patterns and with nanometer precision. We could hereby install spatiotemporal control over the polymer formation and guide the polymer shape and thickness by simply switching the light off and on. These polymeric structures did not only have a significant impact on the stability of the rather susceptible DNA platform, but they could also be released from the template after polymerization. Here, we provide the technology to polymerize dopamine and various analogues along the DNA origami template and thus further contribute to the development of polymer chemistry on the nanoscale.

Polymerization on DNA origami with nanometer resolution

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.