| One of the key aims of structural nanotechnology is to design and construct robust structures. Dozens of these constructs have been made successfully using DNA. With applications to gene therapy, it is worth constructing some of them with RNA. The Switchback motif is a molecule that, made with a certain number of tangles, can self-assemble into large aggregates. These aggregates may have purposes in gene therapy if they can be made to target unwanted cells in biological systems.; Another goal of nanotechnology is to create structures that have the ability to self-assemble. Reciprocal strand exchange between DNA double helices, similar to the DNA Holliday junction, has lead to branched systems with multiple helical domains and many strands. Complementary sticky ends allow for programmable intermolecular cohesion, and have been used to construct periodic arrays. A variety of 2D arrays have been made, and the goal is to extend systems from 2D to 3D. It is possible to design motifs that self-assemble to yield material that diffracts x-rays.; Further investigation of 3D designs had led us to carefully examine 2D lattices of newer, more robust motifs that involve DX cohesion. Faults found in the 2D systems enable us to fine tune our structures before extending our lattices to 3D. |
