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A DNA-origami NanoTrap for studying the diffusion barriers
DNA nanotechnology provides a versatile and powerful tool to dissect the structure-function relationship of biomolecular machines like the nuclear pore complex (NPC), an enormous protein assembly that controls molecular traffic between the nucleus and cytoplasm. To understand how the intrinsically disordered, Phe-Gly-rich nucleoporins (FG-nups) within the NPC’s central transport channel impede the diffusion of macromolecules, Yale researchers built a DNA-origami NanoTrap. The NanoTrap comprises precisely arranged FG-nups in an NPC-like channel, which sits on a baseplate that captures macromolecules that pass through the FG network. The DNA-origami based nuclear pore mimics can now trap molecules and test how FG-nups form diffusion barriers within nanopore confinement. Published in the BioRxiv, Qi Shen leading the collaboration with Chenxiang Lin (Cell Biology & Nanobiology Institute) and Patrick Lusk (Cell Biology).
Source: BioRxiv