Creating complex protocells and prototissues using simple DNA building blocks.

ABSTRACT: Building synthetic protocells and prototissues hinges on the formation of biomimetic skeletal frameworks. Recreating the complexity of cytoskeletal and exoskeletal fibers, with their widely varying dimensions, cellular locations and functions, represents a major material hurdle and intellectual challenge which is compounded by the additional demand of using simple building blocks to ease fabrication and control. Here we harness simplicity to create complexity by assembling structural frameworks from subunits that can support membrane-based protocells and prototissues. We show that five oligonucleotides can anneal into nanotubes or fibers whose tunable thicknesses and lengths spans four orders of magnitude. We demonstrate that the assemblies' location inside protocells is controllable to en

SUBMITTER: Arulkumaran N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10006096 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature