Nucleic Acid Nanotechnology

Nucleic acids are increasingly used to build nanometer-scale structures that may be used in future nanotechnology devices. In his Perspective, Yan identifies two key goals in this area: to perform controlled mechanical movements, and to produce complex structures from simple molecular building blocks. He highlights the reports of Liao and Seeman, whose ribosome-like DNA devices mimic nature9s biological motors to create nanometer-scale machines, and of Chworos et al., who create nanometer-scale materials by organizing RNA components into precisely controlled ensembles. Yan identifies several areas, such as error correction and scaled-up self-assembly, that require particular attention if the potential of nucleic acid-based nanotechnology is to be fulfilled.