Issue 21, 2023

Dynamic exchange controls the assembly structure of nucleic-acid-peptide chimeras

Abstract

Recent attempts to develop the next generation of functional biomaterials focus on systems chemistry approaches exploiting dynamic networks of hybrid molecules. This task is often found challenging, but we herein present ways for profiting from the multiple interaction interfaces forming Nucleic-acid-Peptide assemblies and tuning their formation. We demonstrate that the formation of well-defined structures by double-stranded DNA-peptide conjugates (dsCon) is restricted to a specific range of environmental conditions and that precise DNA hybridization, satisfying the interaction interfaces, is a crucial factor in this process. We further reveal the impact of external stimuli, such as competing free DNA elements or salt additives, which initiate dynamic interconversions, resulting in hybrid structures exhibiting spherical and fibrillar domains or a mixture of spherical and fibrillar particles. This extensive analysis of the co-assembly systems chemistry offers new insights into prebiotic hybrid assemblies that may now facilitate the design of new functional materials. We discuss the implications of these findings for the emergence of function in synthetic materials and during early chemical evolution.

Graphical abstract: Dynamic exchange controls the assembly structure of nucleic-acid-peptide chimeras

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 nov. 2022
Accepted
15 may. 2023
First published
16 may. 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 3940-3945

Author version available

Dynamic exchange controls the assembly structure of nucleic-acid-peptide chimeras

H. Sadihov-Hanoch, A. K. Bandela, A. Chotera-Ouda, O. Ben David, R. Cohen-Luria, D. G. Lynn and G. Ashkenasy, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 3940 DOI: 10.1039/D2SM01528E

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