26.04.2012

BioMod Meeting in E05 in BioTec:
People: Mari, Ali, Agata, Santiago, Karen, Thomas, Svea, Sarah, Praveen

• Some thoughts about the meeting with Dominik Kauert:
  • He has experience with DNA Origami and can tell us what is feasible and what´s not
  • Works with bend DNA Origami and functionalize it with Cholesterol to attach a membrane and therefore force the bending of the membrane
  • Nanopores on DNA Origami are possible
  • caDNAno is a very nice tool and free to design DNA Oigami structures
  • 12 cent per basepair
• Talk from Mari about MIT project: House shaped Origami -> targeted drug delivery:Roof could open using ph change: I-switch (ph switch).Ground floor can open due to light activation (azobenzene link in cis) -> so the “house” can open due to two different signals on two positions and therefore could have two different chambers in one origami.They evaluated the opening by using FRET measurements.
• Ali: DNA spiders -> CalTec: Principle of DNA spider-> 3 legs attached to body, DNA enzyme legs: they split the DNA single strands into shorter strands. Leaving a “burned” path.Molecular Spiders (paper). Random walk: Pick cargos up and should deliver them to one specific site of the Origami.Nice and interesting project: but the problem is, that it might be not useful to work on a project, where there is no knowledge at TU Dresden.What we could use: Walking mechanism by partly complementary strands (useful to make something move, deliver sth. Idea of Ali to use a Jump mechanism for faster targeted delivery of the loads of the spiders.
• Karen: LMU Munich team: Modular nanoscopic drug delivery device with a ph sensitive opening mechanism (using DNA origami) I-motif is pH dependent: Uses cytosins, at low pH values it can pair to itself.
• Design DNA Origami: Using “caDNAno”: predict shape you want: and gives you the staple sequences. Company where you order the strands is MWG.
• G-quadruplex: needs an ion (dependent, metal ion: cation); cancer cells elongate the telomeres by the function of telomerase: a g-quadruplex at the end can prevent the function of the telomerase.
• Thomas: Danish Nano artists-> octahedron which can be used as drug delivery system and can itself work as drug by using RNA interference Why did they use RNA for the Origami? Only possibility to use the container itself for RNA interference and knockdown of genes.
• We need more brainstorm sessions before the tenth of Mai….Meeting on Monday: 7th after the lecture in cellular machines.