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Chenxiang Lin, PhD

Associate Professor of Cell Biology and of Biomedical Engineering; Associate Director, Nanobiology Institute

Contact Information

Chenxiang Lin, PhD

Lab Location

Mailing Address

  • Nanobiology Institute, Yale University

    P.O. BOX 27396

    West Haven, CT 06516-7396

    United States

Chenxiang Lin Lab

Research Summary

Nature has evolved sophisticated and highly efficient molecular machineries for all forms of lives. Our lab focuses on engineering DNA-nanostructure-based molecular tools for investigating and engineering the naturally occurring molecular events. Those DNA-based tools have made it possible for us to manipulate macromolecules and higher order assemblies with nanometer precision. We expect such research to help elucidate biological questions at the single-molecule level, and in the long run lead to functional synthetic nano-machines that rival natural systems in complexity.

Research themes in our lab include:

  1. Structural DNA Nanotechnology: rational design of self-assembled DNA nanostructure with ever-increasing complexity and size.
  2. Single-Molecule Biophysics: study of biomolecule interactions through DNA-directed self-assembly and other single-molecule techniques.
  3. Biosensing and Imaging: developing nucleic-acid-based barcodes as multiplexed biosensors and/or in situ imaging probes.
  4. Synthetic Biology: rebuild naturally existing machineries (e.g., SNARE complex, nuclear pore, etc.) with artificial components and/or spatial arrangement.

Coauthors

Research Interests

Biophysics; Cell Membrane; Cell Biology; DNA; Lipid Bilayers; Membrane Fusion; Membranes, Artificial; Reference Standards; Nucleic Acid Probes; Biosensing Techniques; Nuclear Pore; Nanotechnology; Nanostructures

Selected Publications

  • DNA-Origami NanoTrap for Studying the Selective Barriers Formed by Phenylalanine-Glycine-Rich Nucleoporins.Shen Q, Tian T, Xiong Q, Ellis Fisher PD, Xiong Y, Melia TJ, Lusk CP, Lin C. DNA-Origami NanoTrap for Studying the Selective Barriers Formed by Phenylalanine-Glycine-Rich Nucleoporins. Journal Of The American Chemical Society 2021, 143: 12294-12303. PMID: 34324340, PMCID: PMC8363578, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05550.
  • Sorting sub-150-nm liposomes of distinct sizes by DNA-brick-assisted centrifugation.Yang Y, Wu Z, Wang L, Zhou K, Xia K, Xiong Q, Liu L, Zhang Z, Chapman ER, Xiong Y, Melia TJ, Karatekin E, Gu H, Lin C. Sorting sub-150-nm liposomes of distinct sizes by DNA-brick-assisted centrifugation. Nature Chemistry 2021, 13: 335-342. PMID: 33785892, PMCID: PMC8049973, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-021-00667-5.
  • A programmable DNA-origami platform for studying lipid transfer between bilayers.Bian X, Zhang Z, Xiong Q, De Camilli P, Lin C. A programmable DNA-origami platform for studying lipid transfer between bilayers. Nature Chemical Biology 2019, 15: 830-837. PMID: 31320758, PMCID: PMC6650167, DOI: 10.1038/s41589-019-0325-3.
  • A Programmable DNA Origami Platform for Organizing Intrinsically Disordered Nucleoporins within Nanopore Confinement.Fisher PDE, Shen Q, Akpinar B, Davis LK, Chung KKH, Baddeley D, Saric A, Melia TJ, Hoogenboom BW, Lin C, Lusk CP. A Programmable DNA Origami Platform for Organizing Intrinsically Disordered Nucleoporins within Nanopore Confinement. ACS Nano 2018, 12: 1508-1518. PMID: 29350911, PMCID: PMC5834394, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b08044.
  • Vesicle Tubulation with Self-Assembling DNA Nanosprings.Grome MW, Zhang Z, Pincet F, Lin C. Vesicle Tubulation with Self-Assembling DNA Nanosprings. Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. In English) 2018, 57: 5330-5334. PMID: 29575478, PMCID: PMC5924453, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201800141.
  • Placing and shaping liposomes with reconfigurable DNA nanocages.Zhang Z, Yang Y, Pincet F, C Llaguno M, Lin C. Placing and shaping liposomes with reconfigurable DNA nanocages. Nature Chemistry 2017, 9: 653-659. PMID: 28644472, PMCID: PMC5542812, DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2802.
  • Self-assembly of size-controlled liposomes on DNA nanotemplates.Yang Y, Wang J, Shigematsu H, Xu W, Shih WM, Rothman JE, Lin C. Self-assembly of size-controlled liposomes on DNA nanotemplates. Nature Chemistry 2016, 8: 476-83. PMID: 27102682, PMCID: PMC5021307, DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2472.
  • Submicrometre geometrically encoded fluorescent barcodes self-assembled from DNA.Lin C, Jungmann R, Leifer AM, Li C, Levner D, Church GM, Shih WM, Yin P. Submicrometre geometrically encoded fluorescent barcodes self-assembled from DNA. Nature Chemistry 2012, 4: 832-9. PMID: 23000997, PMCID: PMC3523708, DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1451.
  • In vivo cloning of artificial DNA nanostructures.Lin C, Rinker S, Wang X, Liu Y, Seeman NC, Yan H. In vivo cloning of artificial DNA nanostructures. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2008, 105: 17626-31. PMID: 18927233, PMCID: PMC2584761, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0805416105.
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