A reversibly gated protein-transporting membrane channel made of DNA.

Controlled transport of biomolecules across lipid bilayer membranes is of profound significance in biological processes. In cells, cargo exchange is mediated by dedicated channels that respond to triggers, undergo a nanomechanical change to reversibly open, and thus regulate cargo flux. Replicating these processes with simple yet programmable chemical means is of fundamental scientific interest. Artificial systems that go beyond nature's remit in transport control and cargo are also of considerable interest for biotechnological applications but challenging to build. Here, we describe a synthetic channel that allows precisely timed, stimulus-controlled transport of folded and functional proteins across bilayer membranes. The channel is made via DNA nanotechnology design principles and features a 416 nm2 opening cross-section and a nanomechanical lid which can be controllably closed and re-opened via a lock-and-key mechanism. We envision that the functional DNA device may be used in highly sensitive biosensing, drug delivery of proteins, and the creation of artificial cell networks.

Nanobase.org: a repository for DNA and RNA nanostructures.

We introduce a new online database of nucleic acid nanostructures for the field of DNA and RNA nanotechnology. The database implements an upload interface, searching and database browsing. Each deposited nanostructures includes an image of the nanostructure, design file, an optional 3D view, and additional metadata such as experimental data, protocol or literature reference. The database accepts nanostructures in any preferred format used by the uploader for the nanostructure design. We further provide a set of conversion tools that encourage design file conversion into common formats (oxDNA and PDB) that can be used for setting up simulations, interactive editing or 3D visualization. The aim of the repository is to provide to the DNA/RNA nanotechnology community a resource for sharing their designs for further reuse in other systems and also to function as an archive of the designs that have been achieved in the field so far. Nanobase.org is available at https://nanobase.org/.