On the role of cation–DNA interactions in surface-assisted DNA lattice assembly

Abstract

Surface-assisted DNA lattice assembly is used in the synthesis of functional surfaces and as a model of supramolecular network formation. Here, competitive DNA binding of different cation species is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and correlated with experiments of surface-assisted DNA origami lattice assembly. The results demonstrate that cation–DNA binding has a strong impact on lattice assembly and order.