Abstract
AbstractpH‐responsiveness has been widely pursued in dynamic DNA nanotechnology, owing to its potential in biosensing, controlled release, and nanomachinery. pH‐triggering systems mostly depend on specific designs of DNA sequences. However, sequence‐independent regulation could provide a more general tool to achieve pH‐responsive DNA assembly, which has yet to be developed. Herein, we propose a mechanism for dynamic DNA assembly by utilizing ethylenediamine (EN) as a reversibly chargeable (via protonation) molecule to overcome electrostatic repulsions. This strategy provides a universal pH‐responsivity for DNA assembly since the regulation originates from externally co‐existing EN rather than specific DNA sequences. Furthermore, it endows structural DNA nanotechnology with the benefits of a metal‐ion‐free environment including nuclease resistance. The concept could in principle be expanded to other organic molecules which may bring unique controls to dynamic DNA assembly.
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