The overall goals of this research focus on Nucleic Acid Engineering -- integrating DNA into biomaterial research, not by just mimicking biomolecules, but by actually using biomolecules themselves, DNA in this case, to construct new materials and nanodevices. Departing from the conventional concept of DNA being just a genetic material, it is proposed here to deliberately ignore DNA's various genetic roles and instead to use DNA as a generic building block for the construction of novel DNA-based biomaterials whose architectures can be controlled at the nanoscale, and whose properties can be further tailored towards specific biomedical and biotechnological applications.
Supported partially by the NSF Career Award, we have transformed DNA from a genetic material to a bulk-scale, generic material. More specifically, we have created tree-shape DNA, DNA nanobarcodes, DNA gels, and DNA-organized nanoparticles. Noticeably many of these DNA-based materials were created under efficient catalysts such as enzymes. Light was also employed to engineer DNA. Real world applications have been explored including biosensing, drug delivery, artificial cell culture, cell-free protein production, and electric and plasmonic nanodevices. In particular, we have created DNA nanobarcodes where multiple pathogens can be detected simultaneously through a variety of detection methods (optical, electrical, etc.). A point-of-care device is also being developed that can be employed to detect pathogens on a site (or in a field). In addition, we have created, for the first time, DNA-based hydrogels that can be used to deliver drugs, cells, and vaccines; they can also be employed to produce functional proteins and enzymes without involving any live cell. This cell-free system is a platform technology enabling protein productions beyond physiological conditions and outside of biological confinement. Moreover, we have designed DNA molecules to be an organizer and created ordered gold nanoparticles in 1D (nanowire), 2D (superlatice, and freestanding film) and 3D (crystals). The control over the organization of nanoparticles will pave the way to engineer novel electronic and/or plasmonic nanodevices. Our achievements have been published in many peer-reviewed journals including the following high-impact, Nature-series papers: Nature Nanotechnology 6, 268-276 (2011) Nature Protocols 4, 1759-1770 (2009) Nature Materials (Article) 8, 432-437 (2009) Nature Nanotechnology (Article) 4, 430-436 (2009) Nature Materials (Article) 8, 519-525 (2009) Nature Nanotechnology (Cover Article) 3, 693-696 (2008) Nature Materials 5, 797-801 (2006) Nature Protocols 1, 995-1000 (2006) Nature Biotechnology 23, 885-889, (2005) We have also filed numerous invention disclosures and patents; many of those patents have been licensed out. Both graduate and undergraduate students have benefited from this award. The PI has given close to one hundred invited, public lectures to disseminate the findings. A start-up company was also founded to translate the discoveries into commercial products.
