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DNA origami structures have great potential as functional platforms in various biomedical applications. Many applications, however, are incompatible with the high Mg2+ concentrations commonly believed to be a prerequisite for maintaining DNA origami integrity. Herein, we investigate DNA origami stability in low-Mg2+ buffers. DNA origami stability is found to crucially depend on the availability of residual Mg2+ ions for screening electrostatic repulsion. The presence of EDTA and phosphate ions may thus facilitate DNA origami denaturation by displacing Mg2+ ions from the DNA backbone and reducing the strength of the Mg2+ -DNA interaction, respectively. Most remarkably, these buffer dependencies are affected by DNA origami superstructure. However, by rationally selecting buffer components and considering superstructure-dependent effects, the structural integrity of a given DNA origami nanostructure can be maintained in conventional buffers even at Mg2+ concentrations in the low-micromolar range.
Kielar et al. (Fri,) studied this question.