Recently, Prof. Xiaoguo LIU from Prof. Chunhai FAN’s group at Shanghai Jiao Tong University designed long-range electrostatic interaction modulation system based on tetrahedral DNA frameworks (TDFs) and constructed a new method to modulate DNA hybridization kinetics efficiently. Experimental and theoretical studies demonstrated that long-range electrostatic interactions play an essential role in kinetic modulation of DNA hybridization. Test were conducted on two proof-of-concept complexes, representing DNA-protein and DNA-polysaccharides composites to validate the universality of the method. This work was published on Angewandte Chemie International Edition in May,2021(https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202106010). Dr. Zhibei QU and Dr. Yinan ZHANG are co-first authors. Prof. Xiaoguo LIU is the corresponding author.


Protein and gold nanoparticles with different charges were encapsulated in TDFs to exert diverse electrostatic effects on site-specifically tethered single DNA strands (ssDNA). Using this strategy, the authors have successfully modulated the hybridization kinetics in both bulky solution and single molecule level. The mechanism is that ssDNA exhibits a remarkably long contour length when attached onto a TDF, resulting in easier uncoiling for further hybridization. This work has unveiled the kinetic regulation mechanism of long-range electrostatic interactions beyond the short-range reaction interface, which helps to deepen the systematic understanding of the long-range electrostatic effects in complex DNA nanostructures and potentially to guide gene regulation, nucleic acid probe design and construction of DNA reaction networks.

Translator: Chenyun SUN

Reviser: Xiaoke HU