Robust Design of Compliant DNA Origami Mechanisms

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DNA origami mechanisms are nanometer scale mechanical devices that are made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biological materials. For comparison, a human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide. Self-assembled via the so called DNA base-pairing process, the motion of these tiny mechanisms can be controlled to accomplish a task similar to machines and robots in the macro world. This technique has the potential to revolutionize medicine or reduce resource consumption and environmental pollution in manufacturing processes. For example, DNA nano-robots could potentially be used for nano-manufacturing, for molecular transport in bioreactors, for targeting cancer cells for drug delivery, or even for repairing damaged tissue. However, the motion of these nano-mechanisms is extremely difficult to control due to significant thermal fluctuation in solution, random errors in the molecular self-assembly process, and variation in material and structure properties. This award supports the fundamental research to address these challenges by developing a novel robust-design methodology borrowed from macroscopic compliant-mechanism design. The computational design tools resulting from this research will enable us to effectively design DNA nano-machines that are more accurately controllable, and that can be used in medicine for improving public health.Recent success in applying kinematic mechanism principles in design of DNA origami nano-mechanisms has now opened new significant challenges in quantifying and managing the mechanical behavior of these mechanisms. The goal of this award is to develop a robust design framework for compliant DNA origami mechanisms to improve motion control and enable a wider range of mechanical behavior of DNA nano-structures. This design framework incorporates synthesis of commonly used compliant joints, pseudo-rigid-body models, kinetostatic analysis, synthesis algorithms and statistical theory based method for uncertainty quantification and management. The computational tools and experimental processes resulting from this research will enable: (a) design of DNA origami mechanisms with broader scope of mechanical behavior, (b) characterization of the properties of these nano-mechanisms, and (c) uncertainty quantification and management of DNA origami structures.