Search

Bioplastics are desirable materials for the replacement of petrochemical-derived plastics, but achieving the desired properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report a bioplastic formed from a combination of polysaccharide sources and DNA from living organism waste, with biodegradability and recyclability.

Compartmentalization of phase-separated microdroplets is a key challenge in emulating native cells. Here, the authors report the assembly of compartmentalized, phase-separated cyanuric acid/polyadenine coacervate microdroplets, and the switchable light-stimulated and catalytic reconfiguration of their compartments.

DNA nanotechnology, including DNA machines and devices for computing, is a rapidly expanding field of research. Here, the authors fabricate DNA catenane machines for the programmable arrangement of gold nanoparticle cargoes, and study their switchable spectroscopic features.

It is challenging to integrate a natural photosystem with a redox enzyme on an electrode to convert light energy into electricity. Now, photo-bioelectrochemical cells with efficient photocurrent generation are demonstrated with such an integration.

Inspired by nature’s spatially organized catalytic systems, multiscale confinement emerges as a powerful strategy for programmable biocatalysis. This Review highlights recent advances in designing artificial enzymes, enzyme immobilization methods and substrate channelling techniques, discussing current challenges and future directions towards efficient, sustainable enzyme catalysis for organic synthesis.

Self-assembled barrel-like DNA nanostructures carrying active payloads and pre-programmed with logic operations to reconfigure in response to cell-surface cues can trigger a variety of intracellular functions.

Spatial organization of biocatalytic cascades can improve their performance. In this Review Article, Itamar Willner and colleagues discuss technologies to artificially confine and localize enzyme cascades, the origin of observed rate enhancements and potential applications of such designed systems.

High activity and stability of enzyme cascades are key to their biotechnological application. Here, Willner and co-workers demonstrate that encapsulation in metal–organic framework nanoparticles can improve these features for two- and three-enzyme, as well as NAD⁺-dependent, cascades.

A reaction network executing a cascaded transient formation and depletion of three different catalytic strands is introduced. The system is coupled to the secondary temporal synthesis of different coded strands as gene models.

Spatiotemporal patterning of hydrogel matrices has been used to control cell behavior. Here the authors present photoresponsive DNA-based hydrogels and demonstrate patterning of physical and biochemical properties to tune local cell responses.

Nucleic acid-based constitutional dynamic networks (CDNs) enable control of various catalytic processes, but it is challenging to achieve intercommunication between different CDNs and by that mimic complex cell biology networks. Here, the authors report two CDNs that control the integration of photochemical and dark-operating processes, and show their intercommunication afforded by environmental components.

Extensive research efforts in systems chemistry are directed to the development of in vitro systems that mimic complex natural networks. Now, stimuli-responsive nucleic acid-based networks conjugated to biocatalysts for the triggered and orthogonal control over biocatalytic cascades are reported.

DNA origami provide scaffolds for spatial and temporal control of catalytic functions in confined nanocavities. Here the authors engineer nanoholes in DNA origami scaffolds.

A DNA-based computational platform can construct a universal set of logic gates and perform addition/subtraction operations in parallel, as well as activating multilayered gate cascades and fan-out gates, in a single test tube.

Predicting and controlling the functions in self-organized biomolecular nanostructures is a major challenge in systems biology. Now researchers have developed DNA scaffolds for the topological organization of different enzymes or cofactor-enzyme pairs. The organization of the biomolecules leads to the activation of enzyme cascades that do not occur in non-organized mixtures, and the reactivity of the system can be controlled by the DNA template.

Fluorescent DNA framework dots, consisting of a hydrophobic nanocavity containing a near-infrared-emitting dye, enable precise tumour imaging with sensitivity down to a few tens of cells in mouse models.

Cryo-EM photosystem I structure reveals adaptation mechanisms to extreme high light in Chlorella ohadii.

Dynamic hydrogels with controllable properties are of interest for a range of applications. Here, the authors report on a DNA hydrogel system which can be tailored to have reversible mechanical changes, reversible shape changes, is self-healing and can be used for controlled release applications.

The photosynthetic reaction centres, photosystems I and II, have been investigated for the light-induced generation of fuels and electrical power. Now, Yehezkeliet al. report a photobiofuel cell that generates electricity upon irradiation of photosystem II-functionalized electrodes in aqueous solutions.

DNA nanotubes could be used to transport nano-cargo and incorporated into nano-devices. In this study, rolling circle amplification is used to generate DNA subunits, and their thermodynamic growth results in the formation of nanotubes with a controlled diameter.

Asymmetric chiroplasmonic structures comprising nanoparticles or nanorods can be assembled using DNA scaffolds by a range of methods. In this Review, these assembly methods, the chiroplasmonic properties of static and dynamically reconfigurable systems, theoretical modelling of the chiroplasmonic structures, their applications for sensing and information processing, and future perspectives are discussed.

Changes in protein conformation have been exploited to create chemoresponsive bioelectronic sensors.