Structural DNA nanotechnology
is capable of fabricating
designer
nanoscale artificial architectures. Developing simple and yet versatile
assembly methods to construct large DNA structures of defined spatial
features and dynamic capabilities has remained challenging. Herein,
we designed a molecular assembly system where DNA tiles can assemble
into tubes and then into large one-dimensional DNA bundles following
a hierarchical pathway. A cohesive link was incorporated into the
tile to induce intertube binding for the formation of DNA bundles.
DNA bundles with length of dozens of micrometers and width of hundreds
of nanometers were produced, whose assembly was revealed to be collectively
determined by cationic strength and linker designs (binding strength,
spacer length, linker position, etc.). Furthermore, multicomponent
DNA bundles with programmable spatial features and compositions were
realized by using various distinct tile designs. Lastly, we implemented
dynamic capability into large DNA bundles to realize reversible reconfigurations
among tile, tube, and bundles following specific molecular stimulations.
We envision this assembly strategy can enrich the toolbox of DNA nanotechnology
for rational design of large-size DNA materials of defined features
and properties that may be applied to a variety of fields in materials
science, synthetic biology, biomedical science, and beyond.