Nanomechanics of Self-Assembled DNA Structures

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Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) carries genetic information and is one of the essential components of life. Recently, DNA has been explored as engineering tools to construct complex nanostructures. It is now possible to create highly ordered, programmable DNA structures from designs created on a computer, which may not be manufactured otherwise. However, the mechanical properties of self-assembled DNA structures are largely unknown and they are different from those of individual DNA molecules. This award supports fundamental research to elucidate the mechanics of DNA nanostructures. A better understanding of the nanomechanics will lay a strong foundation to design structurally robust materials or dynamic DNA devices which may be used in a wide range of engineering applications. This research combines two distinct areas in mechanics of materials and structural DNA nanotechnology. This interdisciplinary program will help broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research and advance the public understanding of programmable biomolecular materials. DNA origami is a powerful approach of designing and constructing programmable structures of complex geometry with nanometer-scale precision. However, our ability to understand and predict their mechanical properties is lacking, which is one of the major limitations that prevent widespread applications of synthetic DNA-based assembly as engineering tools. The research team will perform experiments to characterize elastic, bending, and torsional rigidity of various DNA origami structures. The focus will be to elucidate the structure-mechanical property relationship. A physics-based model will be developed to describe the mechanisms and the sources of structural flexibility and rigidity. Ultimately, this research will establish general principles to understand and predict the mechanical properties of DNA nanostructures.