“This task may seem daunting for us, but it is not for nature,” explained Jaeger. Nature takes advantage of these properties for the assembly of thousands of molecules in living organisms. Out of the three major biopolymers, RNA is thought to be the most ancient one on which life is based. RNA is different from DNA in both the stability of Watson-Crick base pairing and in that it is designed to function as a single-stranded molecule. In this way, RNA has some of the nature and functionality of self-assembled proteins.
DNA has been extensively used to generate artificial geometrical objects. Although more chemically labile than DNA, RNA is now gaining attention for its potential in building molecular components with high precision. The ability of RNA to fold into a richer treasure trove of rigid structural motifs, that can be potential modules for supramolecular engineering, is particularly attractive to scientists.
Chworos, the first author of the paper, explained that aperiodic nano-grids may eventually be used as a starting point to generate nanochips, nanocircuits and nanocrystals with potential applications in nanotechnology and materials science. For example, RNA-based materials could offer the unique possibility to act as scaffoldings for precisely aligning quantum dots or organic polymers.
Helen Hansma, co-author and adjunct associate professor of physics at UCSB, said that this advance in the basic science could eventually lead to the use of RNA supra-molecular assembly in medical applications and could be used to to help heal or regenerate bone or other body parts. She also suggested the possibility of miniaturizing some medical tests, allowing the tests to take up less space and use fewer chemicals.
“Like DNA, RNA is now entering into the realm of nano-materials but many technical challenges await us in the development of these applications,” said Jaeger. “Our next immediate task is to develop ‘smart’ RNA pieces that will assemble into responsive, self-assembling, three-dimensional materials.”
This research, published in the December 17 issue of the journal Science, is led by Luc Jaeger, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCSB and a member of UCSB’s Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, and by Arkadiusz Chworos, a post-doctoral fellow studying in Jaeger’s lab.
This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Materials Research Laboratory at USCB.
Text for this article comes from a UCSB press release.