DNA nanotechnology uses the base pairing rules of DNA to design and engineer nucleic acid structures for technological applications. It involves using oligonucleotides to self-assemble into nanostructures such as boxes, tubes and two-dimensional arrays. Potential applications include analytical devices, industrial materials, and medical therapies such as targeted drug delivery. DNA nanotechnology is an emerging field that could allow the precise arrangement of molecules for applications in crystallography, computing and molecular electronics.

1. Interdisciplinary Science
Physics
Material Science Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Biochemistry
Engineering

3. DNA Nanotechnology
DNA nanotechnology is a
design and manufacture of
artificial nucleic acid
structure for technological
uses
DNA Structure

4. •Strict Base pairing rules of nucleic acids
A T C G
Adenine Cytosine
Thymine Guanine

5. Only portion of strands with
complimentary base sequences bind
together to form strong rigid double
helix

6. Nadrian Seeman
You have to follow
your nose and If you
think what you are
doing is interesting
and exciting you
have to have
courage to do it

7. Nanostructure fabrication and confirmation process.
The designed oligonucleotides were
A) Hybridized,
B) Ligated,
C) Separated by agarose gel electrophoresis,
D) Extracted and purified from a gel slice,
E) Immobilized on a mica surface
F) Subjected to AFM visualization.

8. Fig. 1. Structural design of (a) Y-shaped, (b)
closed Y-shaped, (c) H-shaped, and (d)
hexagonal nanostructures. Each arrow
indicates an oligonucleotide of 54 mer in
length.

9. (A) DNA structure of a
covalently closed cube-
like molecular complex.
This is the first
construction of a closed
polyhedral object from
DNA
(B) Truncated
octahedron

10. Applications
A principal goal of DNA
nanotechnology is the assembly of
novel biomaterials for
 Analytical
 Industrial
 Therapeutic purposes

11. Crystallography
Molecules that are difficult to
crystallize in isolation could be
arranged within a three-dimensional
nucleic acid lattice, allowing
determination of their structure

12. Computing
This approach has been used to make
logic gates such as AND, OR, and
NOT gates. More recently, a four-bit
circuit as demonstrated that can
compute the square root of the
integers 0–15, using a system of
gates containing 130 DNA strands.

13. Molecular electronics
The assembly of a nucleic acid structure
could be used to template the assembly
of a molecular electronic elements such
as molecular wires

14. Nanomedicine
Hollow DNA box containing proteins that
induce apoptosis, or cell death, that will only
open when in proximity to a cancer cell.

15. This 3-D print shows the
structure of a functional
synthetic membrane channel
constructed through DNA
nanotechnology.
This DNA-based membrane
channel consists of a needle-
like stem 42 nanometers
long with an internal
diameter of just two
nanometers,. (Credit: Dietz
Lab, TU Muenchen;
copyright TU Muenchen)

18. Future of DNA Nanotechnology

19.  Seeman NC. In the nick of space: Generalized nucleic
acid complementarily and the development of DNA
nanotechnology. Synlett. 2000; 1536–1548.
 Fu T-J, Seeman NC. DNA double cross-over
structures. Biochem. 1993; 32 :3211–3220
 Weiss. A Conversation with Prof. Ned Seeman:
Founder of DNA Nanotechnology. 2008; ACS
Nano.vol. 2 no. 6.1089-1096
19