TY - JOUR
T1 - Inducing reversible stiffness changes in DNA-crosslinked gels
AU - Lin, D. C.
AU - Yurke, B.
AU - Langrana, N. A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank J. Petrowski for help with fabricating the test fixtures. This work was supported by the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University in the form of the Excellence in Biomechanics Fellowship to D.C.L. and the Mary W. Raisler Teaching Excellence funds to N.A.L., and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education & Research Traineeship (IGERT) program on Integratively Engineered Biointerfaces at Rutgers (NSF DGE 0333196).
PY - 2005/6
Y1 - 2005/6
N2 - Researchers have constructed a number of DNA-based nanodevices that undergo stepped configuration changes through the application of single-stranded DNA oligomers. Such devices can be incorporated into gel networks to create new classes of active materials with controllable bulk mechanical properties. This concept was demonstrated in a DNA-crosslinked gel, the stiffness of which was modulated through the application of DNA strands. Each crosslink incorporated a single-stranded region to which a DNA strand with a complementary base sequence (called the fuel strand) bound, thereby changing the nanostructure of the gel network. The gel was restored to its initial stiffness through the application of the complement of the fuel strand, which cleared the fuel strand from the crosslink via competitive binding. Stiffness changes in excess of a factor of three were observed. The ability to switch the mechanical properties of these gels without changing temperature, buffer composition, or other environmental conditions, apart from the application of DNA, makes these materials attractive candidates for biotechnology applications.
AB - Researchers have constructed a number of DNA-based nanodevices that undergo stepped configuration changes through the application of single-stranded DNA oligomers. Such devices can be incorporated into gel networks to create new classes of active materials with controllable bulk mechanical properties. This concept was demonstrated in a DNA-crosslinked gel, the stiffness of which was modulated through the application of DNA strands. Each crosslink incorporated a single-stranded region to which a DNA strand with a complementary base sequence (called the fuel strand) bound, thereby changing the nanostructure of the gel network. The gel was restored to its initial stiffness through the application of the complement of the fuel strand, which cleared the fuel strand from the crosslink via competitive binding. Stiffness changes in excess of a factor of three were observed. The ability to switch the mechanical properties of these gels without changing temperature, buffer composition, or other environmental conditions, apart from the application of DNA, makes these materials attractive candidates for biotechnology applications.
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U2 - 10.1557/JMR.2005.0186
DO - 10.1557/JMR.2005.0186
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:29044447070
VL - 20
SP - 1456
EP - 1464
JO - Journal of Materials Research
JF - Journal of Materials Research
SN - 0884-2914
IS - 6
ER -