Cations regulate membrane attachment and functionality of DNA nanostructures
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The interplay between nucleic acids and lipids underpins several key processes in molecular biology, synthetic biotechnology, vaccine technology, and nanomedicine. These interactions are often electrostatic in nature, and much of their rich phenomenology remains unexplored in view of the chemical diversity of lipids, the heterogeneity of their phases, and the broad range of relevant solvent conditions. Here we unravel the electrostatic interactions between zwitterionic lipid membranes and DNA nanostructures in the presence of physiologically relevant cations, with the purpose of identifying new routes to program DNA–lipid complexation and membrane-active nanodevices. We demonstrate that this interplay is influenced by both the phase of the lipid membranes and the valency of the ions and observe divalent cation bridging between nucleic acids and gel-phase bilayers. Furthermore, even in the presence of hydrophobic modifications on the DNA, we find that cations are still required to enable DNA adhesion to liquid-phase membranes. We show that the latter mechanism can be exploited to control the degree of attachment of cholesterol-modified DNA nanostructures by modifying their overall hydrophobicity and charge. Besides their biological relevance, the interaction mechanisms we explored hold great practical potential in the design of biomimetic nanodevices, as we show by constructing an ion-regulated DNA-based synthetic enzyme.
Date Issued
2021-05-19
Date Acceptance
2021-05-01
Citation
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2021, 143 (19), pp.7358-7367
ISSN
0002-7863
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
7358
End Page
7367
Journal / Book Title
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Volume
143
Issue
19
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. Published under CC BY 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
License URL
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
The Royal Society
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000655254100020&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
851667
UF160152
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chemistry
MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS
LIPID-BILAYERS
ADSORPTION
BINDING
FUSION
CONDENSATION
MECHANISMS
STABILITY
DELIVERY
MODEL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-05-07