DNA origami opens door to nano-robots

It’s called DNA origami, yet unlike its analog progenitor it’s not about folding paper. Instead, researchers fold long strands of DNA to make a structure that can complete simple tasks like delivering a chemical payload once inside a cell.

“The fact that we can build a crank-slider much like the mechanism that turns the wheels of a locomotive train is quite exciting,” says Carlos Castro, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at The Ohio State University, US.

Castro and his team are the first to show the same principles of design seen in full-size machines can also be applied to DNA — and can produce complex, controllable components. “This means we can generally look to macroscopic machines for inspiration on how to build nano-robots,” says Castro. “That idea is new and I think very powerful!”

Read more about Castro’s research, which has been funded by the US National Science Foundation, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.