Bottom-up Assembly of RNA Arrays and Superstructures as Potential Parts in Nanotechnology

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• 作者：Dan Shu ; Wulf-Dieter Moll ; Zhaoxiang Deng ; Chengde Mao ; and Peixuan Guo
• 刊名：Nano Letters
• 出版年：2004
• 出版时间：September 2004
• 年：2004
• 卷：4
• 期：9
• 页码：1717 - 1723
• 全文大小：377K
• 年卷期：v.4,no.9(September 2004)
• ISSN：1530-6992

文摘

DNA and protein have been extensively scrutinized for feasibility as parts in nanotechnology, but another natural building block, RNA, hasbeen largely ignored. RNA can be manipulated to form versatile shapes, thus providing an element of adaptability to DNA nanotechnology,which is predominantly based upon a double-helical structure. The DNA-packaging motor of bacterial virus phi29 contains six DNA-packagingRNAs (pRNA), which together form a hexameric ring via loop/loop interaction. Here we report that this pRNA can be redesigned to form avariety of structures and shapes, including twins, tetramers, rods, triangles, and 3D arrays several microns in size via interaction of programmedhelical regions and loops. Three dimensional RNA array formation required a defined nucleotide number for twisting of the interactive helixand a palindromic sequence. Such arrays are unusually stable and resistant to a wide range of temperatures, salt concentrations, and pH.