DNA nanoflowers are an interesting class of organic-inorganic hybrid materials which are prepared using DNA polymerases. A team including researchers from the University of Oxford, Suez University, and Paul Goddard of Warwick Physics investigated conditions for chemically modifying existing nanoflowers through substitution of Mg2+ with Mn2+, Co2+ or Zn2+ and characterized the resulting particles. The team produced nano- and micro-scale hybrid DNA-inorganic materials that can be prepared in a range of shapes, show enhanced stability against DNA degradation and can be manipulated using an external magnetic field. The tuneable and selective properties of these materials suggests applications in drug delivery, sensing, biocatalysis, energy , and separation technologies.

•  Caption to figure: Image of a manganese-containing DNA nanoflower.
• Publication: Nucleic Acids Research, 46, 7495 (2018)
•  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky630