An autonomous molecular assembler for programmable chemical synthesis
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
External organisations
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands CV4 7AL, UK.
- Chemistry Branch, Department of Science and Mathematics, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Suez 43721, Egypt.
- Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK; Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3QT, UK.
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Warwick , Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
Abstract
Molecular machines that assemble polymers in a programmed sequence are fundamental to life. They are also an achievable goal of nanotechnology. Here, we report synthetic molecular machinery made from DNA that controls and records the formation of covalent bonds. We show that an autonomous cascade of DNA hybridization reactions can create oligomers, from building blocks linked by olefin or peptide bonds, with a sequence defined by a reconfigurable molecular program. The system can also be programmed to achieve combinatorial assembly. The sequence of assembly reactions and thus the structure of each oligomer synthesized is recorded in a DNA molecule, which enables this information to be recovered by PCR amplification followed by DNA sequencing.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 542-548 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Nature Chemistry |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 6 |
Publication status | Published - 11 Apr 2016 |
Keywords
- DNA/chemical synthesis, Genetic Engineering/methods, Models, Molecular, Molecular Structure, Nanostructures/chemistry, Nanotechnology/methods, Nucleic Acid Hybridization/methods, Oligonucleotides/chemical synthesis, Polymerization, Polymers/chemistry