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Membranes
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DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes
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DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Membrane Functions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2021) | Viewed by 14649

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mingxu You

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Interests: fluorescent and bioluminescent biosensors; DNA/RNA nanotechnology; cell imaging; cell signaling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Bin Zhao

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
Interests: biosensing; nucleic acid nanotechnology; membrane biophysics; mechanobiology, genomic diagnostics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Engineering biological membranes with synthetic compounds are important for the study and regulation of cell and tissue functions. A variety of functional nanostructures and devices have been used for membrane modifications and characterizations. Among these nanomaterials, in the last decade, we have witnessed the emergence of DNA nanotechnology for biological membrane studies. With highly precise and tunable self-assembly, DNA nanotechnology has been widely used for developing analytical and biomedical tools for in vitro, intracellular, and membrane applications.  

This Special Issue aims to cover recent developments and advances in all aspects of applying DNA/RNA nanotechnology to biological membranes. We are inviting authors to submit original research and review papers describing new DNA- and RNA-based approaches and applications for membrane modification, analytical and biophysical characterization, regulation of membrane signaling and interactions, and transmembrane deliveries of nucleic acids. Studies performed on either biological membranes or artificial membrane models are highly welcome. 

Prof. Dr. Mingxu You
Dr. Bin Zhao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological membranes
  • DNA nanotechnology
  • gene delivery
  • membrane modification
  • membrane signaling
  • nanodevices

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 175 KiB  
Editorial
DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes
by Bin Zhao and Mingxu You
Membranes 2022, 12(5), 491; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12050491 - 30 Apr 2022
Viewed by 1530
Abstract
In recent years, DNA nanotechnology, including both structural and dynamic DNA nanotechnology, has emerged as a powerful tool for various analytical and biomedical applications in biological membranes [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes)

Research

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17 pages, 2631 KiB  
Article
Minimizing Cholesterol-Induced Aggregation of Membrane-Interacting DNA Origami Nanostructures
by Jasleen Kaur Daljit Singh, Minh Tri Luu, Jonathan F. Berengut, Ali Abbas, Matthew A. B. Baker and Shelley F. J. Wickham
Membranes 2021, 11(12), 950; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11120950 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3577
Abstract
DNA nanotechnology provides methods for building custom membrane-interacting nanostructures with diverse functions, such as shaping membranes, tethering defined numbers of membrane proteins, and transmembrane nanopores. The modification of DNA nanostructures with hydrophobic groups, such as cholesterol, is required to facilitate membrane interactions. However, [...] Read more.
DNA nanotechnology provides methods for building custom membrane-interacting nanostructures with diverse functions, such as shaping membranes, tethering defined numbers of membrane proteins, and transmembrane nanopores. The modification of DNA nanostructures with hydrophobic groups, such as cholesterol, is required to facilitate membrane interactions. However, cholesterol-induced aggregation of DNA origami nanostructures remains a challenge. Aggregation can result in reduced assembly yield, defective structures, and the inhibition of membrane interaction. Here, we quantify the assembly yield of two cholesterol-modified DNA origami nanostructures: a 2D DNA origami tile (DOT) and a 3D DNA origami barrel (DOB), by gel electrophoresis. We found that the DOT assembly yield (relative to the no cholesterol control) could be maximised by reducing the number of cholesterols from 6 to 1 (2 ± 0.2% to 100 ± 2%), optimising the separation between adjacent cholesterols (64 ± 26% to 78 ± 30%), decreasing spacer length (38 ± 20% to 95 ± 5%), and using protective ssDNA 10T overhangs (38 ± 20% to 87 ± 6%). Two-step folding protocols for the DOB, where cholesterol strands are added in a second step, did not improve the yield. Detergent improved the yield of distal cholesterol configurations (26 ± 22% to 92 ± 12%), but samples re-aggregated after detergent removal (74 ± 3%). Finally, we confirmed functional membrane binding of the cholesterol-modified nanostructures. These findings provide fundamental guidelines to reducing the cholesterol-induced aggregation of membrane-interacting 2D and 3D DNA origami nanostructures, improving the yield of well-formed structures to facilitate future applications in nanomedicine and biophysics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes)
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9 pages, 1746 KiB  
Communication
Structure-Dependent Stability of Lipid-Based Polymer Amphiphiles Inserted on Erythrocytes
by Chunsong Yu, Myunggi An, Meng Li, Charles Manke and Haipeng Liu
Membranes 2021, 11(8), 572; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11080572 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2185
Abstract
Cell-based therapies have the potential to transform the treatment of many diseases. One of the key challenges relating to cell therapies is to modify the cell surface with molecules to modulate cell functions such as targeting, adhesion, migration, and cell–cell interactions, or to [...] Read more.
Cell-based therapies have the potential to transform the treatment of many diseases. One of the key challenges relating to cell therapies is to modify the cell surface with molecules to modulate cell functions such as targeting, adhesion, migration, and cell–cell interactions, or to deliver drug cargos. Noncovalent insertion of lipid-based amphiphilic molecules on the cell surface is a rapid and nontoxic approach for modifying cells with a variety of bioactive molecules without affecting the cellular functions and viability. A wide variety of lipid amphiphiles, including proteins/peptides, carbohydrates, oligonucleotides, drugs, and synthetic polymers have been designed to spontaneously anchor on the plasma membranes. These molecules typically contain a functional component, a spacer, and a long chain diacyl lipid. Though these molecular constructs appeared to be stably tethered on cell surfaces both in vitro and in vivo under static situations, their stability under mechanical stress (e.g., in the blood flow) remains unclear. Using diacyl lipid-polyethylene glycol (lipo-PEG) conjugates as model amphiphiles, here we report the effect of molecular structures on the amphiphile stability on cell surface under mechanical stress. We analyzed the retention kinetics of lipo-PEGs on erythrocytes in vitro and in vivo and found that under mechanical stress, both the molecular structures of lipid and the PEG spacer have a profound effect on the membrane retention of membrane-anchored amphiphiles. Our findings highlight the importance of molecular design on the dynamic stability of membrane-anchored amphiphiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes)
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Review

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12 pages, 3067 KiB  
Review
DNA-Based Molecular Engineering of the Cell Membrane
by Xiaodong Li, Tiantian Wang, Yue Sun, Chang Li, Tianhuan Peng and Liping Qiu
Membranes 2022, 12(2), 111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes12020111 - 19 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3516
Abstract
The cell membrane serves as a barrier and gatekeeper to regulate the cellular transportation of substances and information. It plays a significant role in protecting the cell from the extracellular environment, maintaining intracellular homeostasis, and regulating cellular function and behaviors. The capability to [...] Read more.
The cell membrane serves as a barrier and gatekeeper to regulate the cellular transportation of substances and information. It plays a significant role in protecting the cell from the extracellular environment, maintaining intracellular homeostasis, and regulating cellular function and behaviors. The capability to engineer the cell membrane with functional modules that enable dynamic monitoring and manipulating the cell-surface microenvironment would be critical for studying molecular mechanisms underlying various biological processes. To meet this goal, DNA, with intrinsic advantages of high versatility, programmability, and biocompatibility, has gained intense attention as a molecular tool for cell-surface engineering. The past three decades have witnessed the rapid advances of diverse nucleic acid materials, including functional nucleic acids (FNAs), dynamic DNA circuits, and exquisite DNA nanostructures. In this mini review, we have summarized the recent progress of DNA technology for cell membrane engineering, particularly focused on their applications for molecular sensing and imaging, precise cell identification, receptor activity regulation, and artificial membrane structures. Furthermore, we discussed the challenge and outlook on using nucleic acid materials in this specific research area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes)
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16 pages, 2998 KiB  
Review
Obtaining Precise Molecular Information via DNA Nanotechnology
by Qian Tang and Da Han
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 683; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11090683 - 02 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3052
Abstract
Precise characterization of biomolecular information such as molecular structures or intermolecular interactions provides essential mechanistic insights into the understanding of biochemical processes. As the resolution of imaging-based measurement techniques improves, so does the quantity of molecular information obtained using these methodologies. DNA (deoxyribonucleic [...] Read more.
Precise characterization of biomolecular information such as molecular structures or intermolecular interactions provides essential mechanistic insights into the understanding of biochemical processes. As the resolution of imaging-based measurement techniques improves, so does the quantity of molecular information obtained using these methodologies. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule have been used to build a variety of structures and dynamic devices on the nanoscale over the past 20 years, which has provided an accessible platform to manipulate molecules and resolve molecular information with unprecedented precision. In this review, we summarize recent progress related to obtaining precise molecular information using DNA nanotechnology. After a brief introduction to the development and features of structural and dynamic DNA nanotechnology, we outline some of the promising applications of DNA nanotechnology in structural biochemistry and in molecular biophysics. In particular, we highlight the use of DNA nanotechnology in determination of protein structures, protein–protein interactions, and molecular force. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Nanotechnology on Bio-Membranes)
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