2D DNA Nanostructures Propagated via Silver(I)-Mediated Cytosine:Cytosine Base Pairs

Structural DNA nanotechnology enables the self-organization of matter at the nanometer scale, but approaches to expand the inorganic and electrical functionality of these scaffolds remain limited. Developments in nucleic acid metallics have enabled the incorporation of site-specific metal ions in DNA duplexes and provide a means of functionalizing the double helix with atomistic precision. We describe here a class of two-dimensional DNA nanostructures that incorporate the cytosine-Ag+-cytosine (dC:Ag+:dC) base pair as a chemical trigger for self-assembly. We demonstrate that Ag+-functionalized DNA can undergo programmable assembly into large arrays and rings, and can be further co-assembled with guanine tetraplexes (G4). We show that 2D DNA lattices can be assembled with a variety of embedded nanowires at tunable spacing. These results serve as a foundation for further development of self-assembled, metalated DNA nanostructures, with potential for high-precision DNA nanoelectronics with nanometer pitch.