Heavy Metal Stabilization of DNA Origami Nanostructures

DNA origami is a powerful tool to fold 3-dimensional DNA structures with nanometer precision. Its usage, however, is limited as high ionic strength, temperatures below ∼60 °C, and pH values between 5 and 10 are required to ensure the structural integrity of DNA origami nanostructures. Here, we demonstrate a simple and effective method to stabilize DNA origami nanostructures against harsh buffer conditions using PdCl42–. It provided the stabilization of different DNA origami nanostructures against mechanical compression, temperatures up to 100 °C, double-distilled water, and pH values between 4 and 12. Additionally, DNA origami superstructures and bound cargos are stabilized with yields of up to 98%. To demonstrate the general applicability of our approach, we employed our protocol with a Pd metallization procedure at elevated temperatures. In the future, we think that our method opens up new possibilities for applications of DNA origami nanostructures beyond their usual reaction conditions.