Probing and piercing lipid bilayers with DNA nanostructures.

Abstract

Lipid bilayer membranes are essential in biological cells and typically interact with proteins, such as via membrane-spanning channels. DNA, by contrast, does not usually interact in such a way with biological membranes. Here I show that DNA nanostructures can be rationally designed to either tether to or puncture bilayers. Nanostructures that adhere to the membrane can probe its biophysical properties including elasticity, offering advantages over existing analysis approaches. DNA nanostructures can also be designed to puncture membranes and form synthetic channels. Reflecting the unique advantages of DNA, the synthetic channels outperform biological pores in terms of defined lumen size and open up new biosensing routes. A comparison shows the unique strengths of membrane-interacting protein vs. DNA structures.