Sizing up DNA nanostructure assembly with native mass spectrometry and ion mobility.

ABSTRACT: Recent interest in biological and synthetic DNA nanostructures has highlighted the need for methods to comprehensively characterize intermediates and end products of multimeric DNA assembly. Here we use native mass spectrometry in combination with ion mobility to determine the mass, charge state and collision cross section of noncovalent DNA assemblies, and thereby elucidate their structural composition, oligomeric state, overall size and shape. We showcase the approach with a prototypical six-subunit DNA nanostructure to reveal how its assembly is governed by the ionic strength of the buffer, as well as how the mass and mobility of heterogeneous species can be well resolved by careful tuning of instrumental parameters. We find that the assembly of the hexameric, barrel-shaped complex is g

SUBMITTER: van Dyck JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9232653 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature