Bio-Assembly The tremendous advance in understanding, utilization and control of biomolecules provides a dramatically enhanced set of reagents, allowing precise control over the assembly of nano-scale components into larger construct. Next generation materials developed at the interface between traditional inorganic materials and biological polymers can form the basis of novel device technologies by utilizing the highly cooperative, self-assembling capability of biopolymers to direct the formation of 3-dimensional constructs. Integrating nano-scale materials into biological architectures offers intriguing potentials for novel electronic frameworks. Biomaterials represent a burgeoning field in which the demonstration and control of bio-compatibility between the inorganic nanomaterials and the biological scaffolding, as well as the maintenance of bioactivity of the biological framework is crucial to the development of the field. We demonstrate that bio-compatibility and bio-activity are maintained for biomaterials composed of duplex DNA appended with 1.4 nm Au particles. We used highly selective proteins that induce sequence-specific structural perturbations on the DNA. Electron microscopy imaging provides a direct assessment of the bio-activity of the DNA-Au assemblies. (Figure 6) These results lay a foundation for interfacing more complex and diverse protein-DNA-nanomaterial systems, and mechanism for the analysis of the resultant conjugate structures.

Interested in learning more?
Contact Travis Jennings

or read the published articles:

"Nanometal Surface Energy Transfer in Optical Rulers, Breaking the FRET Barrier" C.S. Yun, A. Javier, T. Jennings, M. Fisher, S. Hira, S. Peterson, B. Hopkins, N.O. Reich, and G.F. Strouse, J. Am. Chem. Soc.127(9), 3115-3119 (2005). [view article-PDF]

"Assembly of Nanomaterials Using Bio-Scaffolding." Yun, C.S.; Major, J.L.; Strouse, G.F. Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 642, J2.3 (2001). [ view article - PDF ]