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Nucleic acid design is central to the fields of DNA nanotechnology and DNA computing. [2] It is necessary because there are many possible sequences of nucleic acid strands that will fold into a given secondary structure , but many of these sequences will have undesired additional interactions which must be avoided.
DNA nanotechnology, specifically, is an example of bottom-up molecular self-assembly, in which molecular components spontaneously organize into stable structures; the particular form of these structures is induced by the physical and chemical properties of the components selected by the designers. [19]
Single-stranded and double-stranded versions of these materials have been created using, for example, DNA, LNA, and RNA. One- and two-dimensional forms of nucleic acids (e.g., single strands, linear duplexes, and plasmids ) (Fig. 1) are important biological machinery for the storage and transmission of genetic information .
A nanostructure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures. Nanostructural detail is microstructure at nanoscale. In describing nanostructures, it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dimensions in the volume of an object which are on the nanoscale.
The term has also been used to describe the hierarchical assembly of artificial nucleic acid building blocks used in DNA nanotechnology. [3] The quaternary structure of DNA refers to the formation of chromatin. Because the human genome is so large, DNA must be condensed into chromatin, which consists of repeating units known as nucleosomes.
For example, DNA nanotechnology or cellular engineering would be classified as bionanotechnology because they involve working with biomolecules on the nanoscale. Conversely, many new medical technologies involving nanoparticles as delivery systems or as sensors would be examples of nanobiotechnology since they involve using nanotechnology to ...
The two pathways for homologous recombination in eukaryotes, showing the formation and resolution of Holliday junctions. The Holliday junction is a key intermediate in homologous recombination, a biological process that increases genetic diversity by shifting genes between two chromosomes, as well as site-specific recombination events involving integrases.
The chemical structure of DNA is insufficient to understand the complexity of the 3D structures of DNA. In contrast, animated molecular models allow one to visually explore the three-dimensional (3D) structure of DNA. The DNA model shown (far right) is a space-filling, or CPK, model of the DNA double helix. Animated molecular models, such as ...