Thus, the final position of each piece
can eventually be located within a network lattice
of finite size. In the human-scale world, a good parallel
would be a jigsaw puzzle game of different pieces
for which all the pieces can precisely self-assemble
without direct human intervention.
"This task may seem daunting
for us, but it is not for nature," explained
Jaeger. Nature takes advantage of these properties
for the assembly of thousands of molecules in living
organisms. Out of the three major biopolymers, RNA
is thought to be the most ancient one on which life
is based. RNA is different from DNA in both the stability
of Watson-Crick base pairing and in that it is designed
to function as a single-stranded molecule. In this
way, RNA has some of the nature and functionality
of self-assembled proteins.
DNA has been extensively used to generate
artificial geometrical objects. Although more chemically
labile than DNA, RNA is now gaining attention for
its potential in building molecular components with
high precision. The ability of RNA to fold into a
richer treasure trove of rigid structural motifs,
that can be potential modules for supramolecular engineering,
is particularly attractive to scientists. Chworos,
the first author of the paper, explained that aperiodic
nano-grids may eventually be used as a starting point
to generate nanochips, nanocircuits and nanocrystals
with potential applications in nanotechnology and
materials science. For example, RNA-based materials
could offer the unique possibility to act as scaffoldings
for precisely aligning quantum dots or organic polymers.
Helen Hansma, co-author and adjunct
associate professor of physics at UCSB, said that
this advance in the basic science could eventually
lead to the use of RNA supra-molecular assembly in
medical applications and could be used to to help
heal or regenerate bone or other body parts. She also
suggested the possibility of miniaturizing some medical
tests, allowing the tests to take up less space and
use fewer chemicals.
"Like DNA, RNA is now entering
into the realm of nano-materials but many technical
challenges await us in the development of these applications,"
said Jaeger. "Our next immediate task is to develop
'smart' RNA pieces that will assemble into responsive,
self-assembling, three-dimensional materials."
This research was sponsored by the National Science
Foundation and the Materials Research Laboratory at
USCB.
Note: Jaeger can be reached at 805-893-3628,
or by e-mail at jaeger@chem.ucsb.edu.
