Fig. 1: Nanoparticle-cluster self-assembly directed by the valence-programmable DNA meshframe.

a Conceptual illustration of a nanoparticle (NP) cluster coordinated by sphere-like frame structure with arbitrarily prescribed valence modes and different types of binding affinities (shown as colors). Designated vertices provide binding affinities to corresponding DNA-encoded NPs (shown with matched colors). b Designed DNA meshframe origami, pentakis icosidodecahedron (gray skeleton), for programming designed NP cluster architectures. Zoomed-in vertex shows that it is formed by six edges, with each edge consisting of one double helix. Dark gray lines indicate staple strands and light gray lines indicate a templating DNA. The DNA meshframe can be encoded by introducing ssDNA around the vertex. An encoded vertex is zoomed-in to show that six identical sticky ends (green curves) protrude from a designated vertex. Sticky ends anchored on designated vertices form valence modes of triangular bipyramid and helix (top and middle). Distinctive sets of sticky ends (strands with different colors) can be anchored at designated vertices (middle and bottom). NPs (red balls), capped with complementary DNA shells, are assembled into designed clusters through their coordination around the meshframe corresponding with the programmed vertices, for example (from top to bottom): symmetric nanocluster, arbitrarily prescribed nanocluster with chiral helical valence mode, and multitype NP cluster.