A self-assembled nanoscale robotic arm controlled by electric fields

Kopperger, Enzo; List, Jonathan; Madhira, Sushi; Rothfischer, Florian; Lamb, Don C. und Simmel, Friedrich C. (2018): A self-assembled nanoscale robotic arm controlled by electric fields. In: Science, Bd. 359, Nr. 6373: S. 296-300

Abstract

The use of dynamic, self-assembled DNA nanostructures in the context of nanorobotics requires fast and reliable actuation mechanisms. We therefore created a 55-nanometer-by-55-nanometer DNA-based molecular platform with an integrated robotic arm of length 25 nanometers, which can be extended to more than 400 nanometers and actuated with externally applied electrical fields. Precise, computer-controlled switching of the arm between arbitrary positions on the platform can be achieved within milliseconds, as demonstrated with single-pair Forster resonance energy transfer experiments and fluorescence microscopy. The arm can be used for electrically driven transport of molecules or nanoparticles over tens of nanometers, which is useful for the control of photonic and plasmonic processes. Application of piconewton forces by the robot arm is demonstrated in force-induced DNA duplex melting experiments.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Chemie und Pharmazie > Department Chemie
• Fakultätsübergreifende Einrichtungen: Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM)
• Themengebiete: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 540 Chemie
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• Sprache: Englisch