Supramolecular DNA nanotechnology

Abstract

Nature uses deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as the main material for the storage and transmission of life’s blueprint. Today, DNA is being used as a “smart” material to help solve a number of long-standing issues facing researchers in materials science and nanotechnology. In DNA nanotechnology, DNA’s powerful base-pair molecular recognition criteria are utilized to control the final structure and function of the material being generated. A sub-area of research that our group has recently termed “supramolecular DNA nanotechnology” is emerging and is extending the limits of this molecule in nanotechnology by further fine-tuning DNA’s structural and functional potential. This review will discuss the fruition and fundamentals of supramolecular DNA nanotechnology, as well as its future as a viable science in a material world.