2018/06/15 by Alexander Ohmann, Chen-Yu Li, Christopher Maffeo +6 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · #Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques #Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies #DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04821-5
openalex publication_date 2018/06/15 · openalex created_date 2018/06/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Abstract Mimicking enzyme function and increasing performance of naturally evolved proteins is one of the most challenging and intriguing aims of nanoscience. Here, we employ DNA nanotechnology to design a synthetic enzyme that substantially outperforms its biological archetypes. Consisting of only eight strands, our DNA nanostructure spontaneously inserts into biological membranes by forming a toroidal pore that connects the membrane’s inner and outer leaflets. The membrane insertion catalyzes spontaneous transport of lipid molecules between the bilayer leaflets, rapidly equilibrating the lipid composition. Through a combination of microscopic simulations and fluorescence microscopy we find the lipid transport rate catalyzed by the DNA nanostructure exceeds 10 7 molecules per second, which is three orders of magnitude higher than the rate of lipid transport catalyzed by biological enzymes. Furthermore, we show that our DNA-based enzyme can control the composition of human cell membranes, which opens new avenues for applications of membrane-interacting DNA systems in medicine.