Toward Larger DNA Origami

Structural DNA nanotechnology, and specifically scaffolded DNA origami, is rapidly developing as a versatile method for bottom-up fabrication of novel nanometer-scale materials and devices. However, lengths of conventional single-stranded scaffolds, for example, 7,249-nucleotide circular genomic DNA from the M13mp18 phage, limit the scales of these uniquely addressable structures. Additionally, increasing DNA origami size generates the cost burden of increased staple-strand synthesis. We addressed this 2-fold problem by developing the following methods: (1) production of the largest to-date biologically derived single-stranded scaffold using a λ/M13 hybrid virus to produce a 51 466-nucleotide DNA in a circular, single-stranded form and (2) inexpensive DNA synthesis via an inkjet-printing process on a chip embossed with functionalized micropillars made from cyclic olefin copolymer. We have experimentally demonstrated very efficient assembly of a 51-kilobasepair origami from the λ/M13 hybrid scaffold folded by chip-derived staple strands. In addition, we have demonstrated two-dimensional, asymmetric origami sheets with controlled global curvature such that they land on a substrate in predictable orientations that have been verified by atomic force microscopy.