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The device, developed by NYU Chemistry graduate
student Shiping Liao and Professor Nadrian C. Seeman, emulates the
process by which RNA replicas of DNA sequences are translated to
create protein sequences. However, the signals that control the
nanomechanical tool are DNA rather than RNA. The dimensions of the
machine are approximately 110 x 30 x 2 nm.
"The device is a machine to make specific DNA
sequences by imitating the ribosome's translational capabilities,"
said Seeman, who developed the machine with Liao over the last year.
The machine may be set to four different structural
settings and allows researchers to determine which elements of a DNA
strand are to be used to construct a product sequence. Liao and Seeman
employed a pair of PX-JX2 devices--an existing DNA machine developed a
few years ago in Seeman's laboratory--in selecting the DNA molecules
and used another DNA motif, known as DX molecules, as an adapter
between the strands they carry and the device. The researchers tested
the device experimentally by adding a complete set of DX molecules to
a solution. The intended DX molecules, which included strands from the
target product attached to the device, and the target strands were
bonded together, thereby emulating the way RNA molecules code for
proteins.
The researchers emphasized that their device does
not transcribe the traditional genetic code, but rather, uses an
arbitrary code that they made up. However, they noted, its encryption
abilities have the potential to construct new types of polymers, which
could be used in the production of new synthetic polymer materials. In
addition, the machine operation may be used to advance DNA-based
computational methods. |
