Self-Assembly of Microparticles by Supramolecular Homopolymerization of One Component DNA Molecule

Abstract

DNA is a superb molecule for self-assembly of nanostructures. Often many DNA strands are required for the assembly of one DNA nanostructure. For lowering the cost of synthesizing DNA strands and facilitating the assembly process, it is highly desirable to use a minimal number of unique strands for potential technological applications. Herein, a strategy is reported to assemble a series of DNA microparticles (DNAµPs) from one component DNA strand. As a demonstration of the application of the resulting DNAµPs, the design and assembled DNAµPs are modified to carry additional single-stranded tails on their surfaces. The modified DNAµPs can either capture other nucleic acids or display CpG motifs to stimulate immune responses.

Keywords: CpG motif; DNA nanostructures; DNA nanotechnology; self-assembly.