Journal
NANO LETTERS
Volume 16, Issue 11, Pages 7128-7136Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03430
Keywords
Self-organization; polymersome clusters; DNA functionalization; DNA migration; membrane contact sites
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Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation
- National Centre of Competence in Research Molecular Systems Engineering
- University of Basel SystemX.ch RTD CINA
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Self-organization of nanocomponents was mainly focused on solid nanoparticles, quantum dots, or liposomes to generate complex architectures with specific properties, but intrinsically limited or not developed enough, to mimic sophisticated structures with biological functions in cells. Here, we present a biomimetic strategy to self-organize synthetic nanocompartments (polymersomes) into clusters with controlled properties and topology by exploiting DNA hybridization to interconnect polymersomes. Molecular and external factors affecting the self-organization served to design clusters mimicking the connection of natural organelles: fine-tune of the distance between tethered polymersomes, different topologies, no fusion of clustered polymersomes, and no aggregation. Unexpected, extended DNA bridges that result from migration of the DNA strands inside the thick polymer membrane (about 12 nm) represent a key stability and control factor, not yet exploited for other synthetic nano-object networks. The replacement of the empty polymersomes with artificial organelles, already reported for single polymersome architecture, will provide an excellent platform for the development of artificial systems mimicking natural organelles or cells and represents a fundamental step in the engineering of molecular factories.
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