Editing DNA (section)

=== DNA nanotechnology ===
{{further|DNA nanotechnology}}
[[File:DNA nanostructures.png|thumb|upright=1.8|The DNA structure at left (schematic shown) will self-assemble into the structure visualized by [[Atomic force microscope|atomic force microscopy]] at right. [[DNA nanotechnology]] is the field that seeks to design nanoscale structures using the [[molecular recognition]] properties of DNA molecules.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Strong M | title = Protein nanomachines | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = E73 | date = March 2004 | pmid = 15024422 | pmc = 368168 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020073 | s2cid = 13222080 | doi-access = free }}</ref>]]
DNA nanotechnology uses the unique [[molecular recognition]] properties of DNA and other nucleic acids to create self-assembling branched DNA complexes with useful properties.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rothemund PW | s2cid = 4316391 | title = Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns | journal = Nature | volume = 440 | issue = 7082 | pages = 297–302 | date = March 2006 | pmid = 16541064 | doi = 10.1038/nature04586 | bibcode = 2006Natur.440..297R | url = https://authors.library.caltech.edu/22244/3/nature04586-s2.pdf }}</ref> DNA is thus used as a structural material rather than as a carrier of biological information. This has led to the creation of two-dimensional periodic lattices (both tile-based and using the ''[[DNA origami]]'' method) and three-dimensional structures in the shapes of [[Polyhedron|polyhedra]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Andersen ES, Dong M, Nielsen MM, Jahn K, Subramani R, Mamdouh W, Golas MM, Sander B, Stark H, Oliveira CL, Pedersen JS, Birkedal V, Besenbacher F, Gothelf KV, Kjems J | s2cid = 4430815 | title = Self-assembly of a nanoscale DNA box with a controllable lid | journal = Nature | volume = 459 | issue = 7243 | pages = 73–76 | date = May 2009 | pmid = 19424153 | doi = 10.1038/nature07971 | bibcode = 2009Natur.459...73A | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0010-9362-B | hdl-access = free }}</ref> [[DNA machine|Nanomechanical devices]] and [[DNA computing|algorithmic self-assembly]] have also been demonstrated,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ishitsuka Y, Ha T | title = DNA nanotechnology: a nanomachine goes live | journal = Nature Nanotechnology | volume = 4 | issue = 5 | pages = 281–82 | date = May 2009 | pmid = 19421208 | doi = 10.1038/nnano.2009.101 | bibcode = 2009NatNa...4..281I }}</ref> and these DNA structures have been used to template the arrangement of other molecules such as [[Colloidal gold|gold nanoparticles]] and [[streptavidin]] proteins.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Aldaye FA, Palmer AL, Sleiman HF | title = Assembling materials with DNA as the guide | journal = Science | volume = 321 | issue = 5897 | pages = 1795–99 | date = September 2008 | pmid = 18818351 | doi = 10.1126/science.1154533 | bibcode = 2008Sci...321.1795A | s2cid = 2755388 }}</ref> DNA and other nucleic acids are the basis of [[aptamers]], synthetic oligonucleotide ligands for specific target molecules used in a range of biotechnology and biomedical applications.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dunn MR, Jimenez RM, Chaput JC |title=Analysis of aptamer discovery and technology |journal=Nature Reviews Chemistry |date=2017 |volume=1 |issue=10 |doi=10.1038/s41570-017-0076 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41570-017-0076 |access-date=30 June 2022}}</ref>