Harnessing a paper-folding mechanism for reconfigurable DNA origami

Myoungseok Kim, Chanseok Lee, Kyounghwa Jeon, Jae Young Lee, Young-Joo Kim, Jae Gyung Lee, Hyunsu Kim, Maenghyo Cho and Do-Nyun Kim ()
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Myoungseok Kim: Seoul National University
Chanseok Lee: Seoul National University
Kyounghwa Jeon: Seoul National University
Jae Young Lee: Seoul National University
Young-Joo Kim: Seoul National University
Jae Gyung Lee: Seoul National University
Hyunsu Kim: Seoul National University
Maenghyo Cho: Seoul National University
Do-Nyun Kim: Seoul National University

Nature, 2023, vol. 619, issue 7968, 78-86

Abstract: Abstract The paper-folding mechanism has been widely adopted in building of reconfigurable macroscale systems because of its unique capabilities and advantages in programming variable shapes and stiffness into a structure1–5. However, it has barely been exploited in the construction of molecular-level systems owing to the lack of a suitable design principle, even though various dynamic structures based on DNA self-assembly6–9 have been developed10–23. Here we propose a method to harness the paper-folding mechanism to create reconfigurable DNA origami structures. The main idea is to build a reference, planar wireframe structure24 whose edges follow a crease pattern in paper folding so that it can be folded into various target shapes. We realized several paper-like folding and unfolding patterns using DNA strand displacement25 with high yield. Orthogonal folding, repeatable folding and unfolding, folding-based microRNA detection and fluorescence signal control were demonstrated. Stimuli-responsive folding and unfolding triggered by pH or light-source change were also possible. Moreover, by employing hierarchical assembly26 we could expand the design space and complexity of the paper-folding mechanism in a highly programmable manner. Because of its high programmability and scalability, we expect that the proposed paper-folding-based reconfiguration method will advance the development of complex molecular systems.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06181-7

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