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Inducing Reversible Stiffness Changes in DNA-crosslinked Gels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2005

D.C. Lin,
B. Yurke and
N.A. Langrana
D.C. Lin
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
B. Yurke
Affiliation:
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
N.A. Langrana*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. Present address: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 e-mail: langrana@rutgers.edu
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

Elastic propertiesNanoscalePolymerization

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Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 6 , June 2005, pp. 1456 - 1464
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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