Formulation of DNA origami nanostructures in a buffered solution followed by deposition and imaging is a staged sequence of events to observe nanostructures on a surface. To determine if the process can be completed in fewer stages, we performed experiments to show formulation of nanostructures annealed directly on a modified silicon surface, rather than from solution in a tube. Silicon chips sized 3 cm × 3 cm were cleaned in a heated 1:3 H2O2 /H2SO4 solution, and the substrate surface was modified with 1% v/v solutions of either methoxy or ethoxy organosilanes. After rinsing and drying the substrate surface, synthesis of rectangular DNA origami was allowed to occur de novo on the modified substrate surface. Each sample surface was treated with 1:10 solution of 2 nM DNA origami staple strands and single stranded circular DNA, 12 mM Mg buffer, and sterile, deionized water. Annealing will occur by heating the surface for 12 minutes at 80 °C, followed by slow cooling to give temp. Finally, the surface was rinsed with 200 μL of water, dried with N gas, and will be imaged in air using a Bruker Dimensions Icon Atomic Force Microscope in tapping mode. We expect Images will show that DNA origami rectangles formed, and multilayers will be observed. The surface may be disordered in many scanned regions, with incompletely formed rectangles. We believe that the modified surface can be tuned to improve the surface roughness, and that the ratio of staple strands and circular DNA can be lowered due to reduced surface interactions leading to unformed rectangles.

Synthesis of DNA origami onto modified silicon surfaces

ACS Spring 2022

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