Background&motivation

 In the natural world, "wrapping" is a very important act. It can be seen everywhere; from small-scale reactions like protein folding, endocytosis, and macrophage phagocytosis [1] to much larger scale like the Earth "cloaked" with ozone layer. Even the simple movements of animals share the same "wrapping" concept, like spreading their hands to grab their prey or opening their mouths to eat.

 Various nano-sized catchers have been created by DNA Nano technology [2, 3]. Utilizing the feature of DNA-encoded information, these catchers have drawn many researchers’ attention in drug delivery system, capturing bacteria, and more. Thus we assume the possibilities would surely expend if we can make a bigger macro sized catcher with DNA Nano technology.

 As of now, the biggest DNA Nano technology structure is the planar DNA tile. If we could convert DNA tile sheet into a sphere like a cage, it should be a DNA catcher for larger than nano-sized objects.

Reference

[1] Bruce, A., Alexander, J., Julian, L., David, M., Martin, R., Keith, R., Peter, W. (2014) Molecular Biology of the Cell 6th Edition. Garland Science

[2] Li, J., Fan, C., Pei, H., Shi, J., & Huang, Q. (2013). Smart Drug Delivery Nanocarriers with Self‐Assembled DNA Nanostructures. Advanced materials, 25(32), 4386-4396.

[3] Douglas, S. M., Bachelet, I., & Church, G. M. (2012). A logic-gated nanorobot for targeted transport of molecular payloads. Science, 335(6070), 831-834.