IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Ohio State Researchers Create DNA 'Transformers'

Think Transformers, the robot toys-turned-movie stars that resemble one thing but change into something else when needed — except these nano-robots could help destroy disease one day.

(TNS) -- Ohio State University researchers have figured out how to bend and fold DNA into tiny robot parts that could change the way doctors target drugs to damaged cells.

Think Transformers, the robot toys-turned-movie stars that resemble one thing but change into something else when needed — except these nano-robots could help destroy disease one day.

The concept of manipulating DNA into shapes, so-called DNA origami, is not new. For decades, scientists have been twisting DNA strands into shapes that resemble everything from stars to smiley faces.

Several years ago, someone figured out how to create DNA clamshells, which allowed doctors to transport medicine to specific cells. For example, the DNA strands could be programmed to open the clamshells and deliver medicine only inside cancer cells.

But even the most-complex DNA manipulations have been once-and-done tricks.

The OSU researchers took the work to the next level, creating DNA origami that will one day perform tasks again and again, said Thom LaBean, a DNA scientist and associate professor in material science and engineering at North Carolina State University who was not involved in this research.

“You’ll be able to put some of these pieces together to be able to make a more-complicated molecular robot,” LaBean said.

The OSU researchers, mostly mechanical engineers, built DNA structures that mimicked hinges and pistons.

The idea was to build something that could flex and change, said Carlos Castro, an OSU assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a project leader on this research.

“The structure is a little more complex,” Castro said.

He said the work could result in separate or timed drug releases. And some of the DNA strands could interact with each other to perform different tasks. “You’ve sort of opened up the door of what’s possible,” Castro said.

DNA origami uses both human DNA and synthetic DNA.

Haijun Su, another OSU assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who worked on the project, said a key part of the findings is that the movements of these shapes can be controlled.

“Like in an escalator system, you have multiple parts that are connected by the joints, and the joints are controlled by hydraulic cylinders, so the motion you control is actually those hydraulic cylinders,” Su said.

“In the future, we are going to extend this work to build a more application-related mechanism ... say a design that grips from one position and then can place an object into another position.”

Su said that kind of DNA origami would allow doctors to control where medications go and when they are delivered.

The work is being published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

©2015 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)