Reconfigurability of deformable DNA origami nanoparticles on biomembranes

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

Biomembranes are essential to living cells, and they also serve as a valuable interface for organizing nanoparticles for applications in biology and soft materials. Adhesion of particles onto a membrane can give rise to emergent interactions between particles that cause them to organize on the membrane and transform its shape. Previous research has focused predominantly on nanoparticles with rigid shapes. Recent advances enable the creation of deformable nanoparticles, made from DNA, that have precisely controllable shapes and mechanical properties. While the importance of particle flexibility in the assembly of organized structures is known in some fields, it has not been explored in the context of nanoparticle-membrane interactions. This project is a quantitative study of the adsorption and organization of deformable and reconfigurable nanoparticles on biomembranes. It will lay the groundwork for the rational design of nanoparticles with more complex and tunable behaviors than is possible with rigid particles. This project will establish fundamental understanding and practical design principles for a technology that will open new avenues to probe and actuate properties of membranes and to facilitate the assembly and dynamic reconfigurability of nanoparticles on fluid surfaces. Research activities will be integrated with outreach efforts to broaden research participation, enhance scientific knowledge, and increase college preparedness. This award will investigate interactions of deformable DNA origami nanoparticles with lipid membranes and establish a mechanistic link between particle flexibility, membrane deformability, and the resulting configurations and self-assembly of the particles. Specific objectives include (1) quantitatively characterizing adsorption of deformable nanoparticles onto membranes; (2) assessing membrane-mediated deformations of adsorbed nanoparticles; (3) classifying emergent behaviors of populations of nanoparticles at higher densities; and (4) studying stimuli-triggered reconfigurability of membrane-associated nanoparticles. The study will leverage complementary computational and experimental methods to provide insight inaccessible to either approach on its own. The rationale is to reveal new understanding of the coupled behaviors of biomembranes and deformable, lipid-anchored DNA origami nanostructures, thus enabling predictive design of nanostructures that respond to, assemble on, and modulate biomembranes in controllable manners. The proposal will cross-train graduate and undergraduate researchers, encourage pre-transfer community college students to engage in research, recruit underrepresented groups to contribute to the research project, and educate rising high school seniors through hands-on projects and research mentorship. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.