Such a self-association mechanism through dimerization and oligomerization not only enables new functions at the intermolecular interfaces but also elicits a wealth of structural and functional advantages. The ratchet model proposes that GTP hydrolysis powers the relative sliding of the helical turns, giving rise to twisting of the helix and eventually membrane fission 3, 4. The dynamin unit is an antiparallel dimer, which can oligomerize into a helical polymer. For instance, a GTPase called dynamin is at the heart of endocytic vesicle fission.
In particular, oligomerization is essential in many protein-involved cellular processes 1, 2. These biological constructs optimized through billions of years of evolution provide us with the inspiration to create artificial systems, which emulate the structural and functional features of their natural counterparts. Our hierarchical assembly scheme offers a design blueprint to construct DNA-assembled advanced architectures with high degrees of freedom to tailor the optical responses and regulate multi-motion on the nanoscale.Ĭellular life functions through a collection of highly-controlled dynamic processes involving the self-assembly and organization of diverse molecular building blocks. Further oligomerization leads to higher-order structures, containing alternating rotation and sliding dimer interfaces to impose structural twisting. Through dimerization, two building blocks can form a dimer to yield coordinated sliding. The building block is a chiral system, comprising two interacting gold nanorods to perform rotation and walking, respectively. Here, we demonstrate a DNA-assembled building block with rotary and walking modules, which can introduce new motion through dimerization and oligomerization. Despite the progress on DNA-assembled artificial systems, endeavors have been largely paid to achieve monomeric nanostructures that mimic motor proteins for a single type of motion. In living organisms, proteins are organized prevalently through a self-association mechanism to form dimers and oligomers, which often confer new functions at the intermolecular interfaces.
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