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DNA photofluids show life-like motion

Nature Materials volume 24, pages 935–944 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

As active matter, cells exhibit non-equilibrium structures and behaviours such as reconfiguration, motility and division. These capabilities arise from the collective action of biomolecular machines continuously converting photoenergy or chemical energy into mechanical energy. Constructing similar dynamic processes in vitro presents opportunities for developing life-like intelligent soft materials. Here we report an active fluid formed from the liquid–liquid phase separation of photoresponsive DNA nanomachines. The photofluids can orchestrate and amplify nanoscale mechanical movements by orders of magnitude to produce macroscopic cell-like behaviours including elongation, division and rotation. We identify two dissipative processes in the DNA droplets, photoalignment and photofibrillation, which are crucial for harnessing stochastic molecular motions cooperatively. Our results demonstrate an active liquid molecular system that consumes photoenergy to create ordered out-of-equilibrium structures and behaviours. This system may help elucidate the physical principles underlying cooperative motion in active matter and pave the way for developing programmable interactive materials.

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Fig. 1: Photon-fuelled DNA nanomachines and reversible assembly of DNA droplets.
Fig. 2: Vis-light-fuelled deformations of the active DNA droplets.
Fig. 3: Photoinduced fibrillation inside DNA droplets.
Fig. 4: Cell-like motions in active DNA droplets via spatiotemporal Vis irradiation.
Fig. 5: Photofluids support macroscopic actuation on Vis irradiation.

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All data generated during this study are included in the Article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (grant 22ZR1429000 to N.-N.D.), Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2025ZNSFSC0335 to N.-N.D.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 22278264 to N.-N.D. and 22307074 to Q.H.Z.), Sichuan Emei talent plan (2017 to N.-N.D.) and Open Foundation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shaoxing Research Institute of Renewable Energy and Molecular Engineering (grant JDSX2022047 to N.-N.D.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Synergistic Chem-Bio Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Qi-Hong Zhao, Jin-Ying Qi & Nan-Nan Deng

  2. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Sichuan Research Institute, Chengdu, China

    Nan-Nan Deng

Authors
  1. Qi-Hong Zhao
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  2. Jin-Ying Qi
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Contributions

N.-N.D. supervised the research. N.-N.D. conceived the research and designed the experiments. Q.-H.Z. and J.-Y.Q. performed the experiments. N.-N.D. and Q.-H.Z. analysed the data. N.-N.D. wrote the paper. All authors approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nan-Nan Deng.

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Nature Materials thanks Jiawen Chen and Andreas Walther for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–32, Tables 1–7 and captions for Supplementary Videos 1–14.

Supplementary Video 1

UV-induced vesicular dissolution of DNA droplets.

Supplementary Video 2

Vis-induced reassembly of DNA droplets by LLPS.

Supplementary Video 3

Unpolarized Vis-light-fuelled elongation of active DNA droplets and shape recovery.

Supplementary Video 4

Reconstructed 3D confocal images showing 2D liquid slices of the active DNA droplets deformed by linearly polarized Vis light.

Supplementary Video 5

Thermo-induced vesicular dissolution of active DNA droplets.

Supplementary Video 6

Deformation of active DNA droplets into linear patterns under laser illumination.

Supplementary Video 7

Photoinduced fibrillation process from unassociated Y-motifs.

Supplementary Video 8

Fibrillar DNA aggregates spontaneously transform into spherical DNA droplets when Vis illumination stops.

Supplementary Video 9

LLPS of Y-motifs into tactoid-like anisotropic liquid droplets.

Supplementary Video 10

Cell-like extending pseudopodium in active DNA droplets.

Supplementary Video 11

Cell-like division in active DNA droplets.

Supplementary Video 12

Rotation of DNA liquid rods in response to the changes in the polarization direction of the incident light.

Supplementary Video 13

Photofluids for actuating the deformations of ternary Janus droplets.

Supplementary Video 14

Photoactive DNA microfilaments induce flow turbulence in W/O droplets.

Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 3

Statistical source data.

Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 4

Statistical source data.

Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 5

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Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 7

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Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 12

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Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 17

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Source Data for Supplementary Fig. 21

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Source Data Fig. 2

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Source Data Fig. 5

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Zhao, QH., Qi, JY. & Deng, NN. DNA photofluids show life-like motion. Nat. Mater. 24, 935–944 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02202-0

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