arXivDaily arXiv每日学术速递 周一至周五更新
arXiv 1704.08293cond-mat.softphysics.chem-ph
收藏

研究边界砖在DNA砖自组装中的作用

Investigating the role of boundary bricks in DNA brick self-assembly

Hannah Wayment-Steele, Daan Frenkel, Aleks Reinhardt

摘要:

在标准的DNA砖装置中,单链DNA的不同的32个核苷酸链被设计成特异性地结合其他四个这样的分子。实验上,已经证明,如果在目标结构的外表面上出现的某些砖与相邻的砖合并,则总产量增加。然而,尚不清楚这种“边界砖”通过何种机制提高产率,因为它们可能影响成核过程和目标结构的最终稳定性。在这里,我们使用蒙特卡罗模拟与补丁粒子模型的DNA砖调查的作用,边界砖的自组装复杂的多组分目标结构。我们表明,边界砖降低成核的自由能垒和边缘上的边界砖稳定的最终结构。然而,边界砖也更容易聚集,因为它们可以稳定部分组装的中间体。我们探讨了一些设计策略,使我们能够受益于边界砖的稳定作用,同时最大限度地减少他们的能力,阻碍组装,特别是,我们表明,最大限度地提高边界砖的总数不是一个最佳的策略。

英文摘要:

In the standard DNA brick set-up, distinct 32-nucleotide strands of single-stranded DNA are each designed to bind specifically to four other such molecules. Experimentally, it has been demonstrated that the overall yield is increased if certain bricks which occur on the outer faces of target structures are merged with adjacent bricks. However, it is not well understood by what mechanism such `boundary bricks' increase the yield, as they likely influence both the nucleation process and the final stability of the target structure. Here, we use Monte Carlo simulations with a patchy particle model of DNA bricks to investigate the role of boundary bricks in the self-assembly of complex multicomponent target structures. We demonstrate that boundary bricks lower the free-energy barrier to nucleation and that boundary bricks on edges stabilize the final structure. However, boundary bricks are also more prone to aggregation, as they can stabilize partially assembled intermediates. We explore some design strategies that permit us to benefit from the stabilizing role of boundary bricks whilst minimizing their ability to hinder assembly; in particular, we show that maximizing the total number of boundary bricks is not an optimal strategy.

机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来,可能存在错误,请以论文正文为准。

↑