DNA nanotechnology for building artificial dynamic systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how DNA nanotechnology can be used to create artificial molecular motors inspired by natural biological machines, highlighting recent advances and future prospects.

Contribution

It reviews the design principles of DNA-based linear and rotary motors, providing insights into constructing artificial systems mimicking natural molecular motors.

Findings

DNA origami enables construction of functional artificial motors

Artificial motors mimic natural motion and function

Future research directions in DNA nanotechnology for dynamic systems

Abstract

A fundamental design rule that nature has developed for biological machines is the intimate correlation between motion and function. One class of biological machines is molecular motors in living cells, which directly convert chemical energy into mechanical work. They coexist in every eukaryotic cell, but differ in their types of motion, the filaments they bind to, the cargos they carry, as well as the work they perform. Such natural structures offer inspiration and blueprints for constructing DNA-assembled artificial systems, which mimic their functionality. In this article, we describe two groups of cytoskeletal motors, linear and rotary motors. We discuss how their artificial analogues can be built using DNA nanotechnology. Finally, we summarize ongoing research directions and conclude that DNA origami has a bright future ahead.