Volume 55, Issue 19 pp. 5692-5697
Communication

Bottom-Up Fabrication of Nanopatterned Polymers on DNA Origami by In Situ Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization

Yu Tokura

Yu Tokura

Organic Chemistry III, Macromolecular Chemistry and Biomaterials, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Yanyan Jiang

Yanyan Jiang

Organic Chemistry III, Macromolecular Chemistry and Biomaterials, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052 Australia

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Dr. Alexander Welle

Dr. Alexander Welle

Preparative Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute for Technical Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 18, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Institute for Biological Interfaces, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

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Prof. Martina H. Stenzel

Prof. Martina H. Stenzel

Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052 Australia

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Katarzyna M. Krzemien

Katarzyna M. Krzemien

Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

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Prof. Jens Michaelis

Prof. Jens Michaelis

Institute of Biophysics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

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Dr. Rüdiger Berger

Dr. Rüdiger Berger

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany

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Prof. Christopher Barner-Kowollik

Prof. Christopher Barner-Kowollik

Preparative Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute for Technical Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 18, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Institute for Biological Interfaces, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

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Dr. Yuzhou Wu

Corresponding Author

Dr. Yuzhou Wu

Organic Chemistry III, Macromolecular Chemistry and Biomaterials, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

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Prof. Tanja Weil

Corresponding Author

Prof. Tanja Weil

Organic Chemistry III, Macromolecular Chemistry and Biomaterials, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

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First published: 05 April 2016
Citations: 68

Graphical Abstract

Surface-initiated polymerization reactions on DNA origami enable the precise design of nanopatterned polymers. Characterization by atomic force microscopy, gel electrophoresis, and time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry showed that this approach can be used to fabricate polymers of different patterns and lengths on the nanoscale.

Abstract

Bottom-up strategies to fabricate patterned polymers at the nanoscale represent an emerging field in the development of advanced nanodevices, such as biosensors, nanofluidics, and nanophotonics. DNA origami techniques provide access to distinct architectures of various sizes and shapes and present manifold opportunities for functionalization at the nanoscale with the highest precision. Herein, we conduct in situ atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on DNA origami, yielding differently nanopatterned polymers of various heights. After cross-linking, the grafted polymeric nanostructures can even stably exist in solution without the DNA origami template. This straightforward approach allows for the fabrication of patterned polymers with low nanometer resolution, which provides access to unique DNA-based functional hybrid materials.

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