Click-based functionalization of a 2′-O-propargyl-modified branched DNA nanostructure

Abstract

DNA has emerged as a versatile building block for programmable self-assembly. DNA-based nanostructures have been widely applied in biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, molecular computation and macromolecular scaffolding. A variety of strategies have been developed to functionalize these nanostructures. In this study, we report a facile click-based strategy to incorporate a metal chelating ligand and a fluorescent tag into a three-point-star DNA tile containing 2′-O-propargyl groups. Such a strategy opens up the possibility of functionalizing pre-assembled DNA strands to construct platforms for metal or drug delivery.