10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b00814.s001 Davide Mariottini Davide Mariottini Andrea Idili Andrea Idili Alexis Vallée-Bélisle Alexis Vallée-Bélisle Kevin W. Plaxco Kevin W. Plaxco Francesco Ricci Francesco Ricci A DNA Nanodevice That Loads and Releases a Cargo with Hemoglobin-Like Allosteric Control and Cooperativity American Chemical Society 2017 hemoglobin binding sites control mechanisms oxygen-carrying activity DNA Nanodevice DNA-based nanodevice Hemoglobin-Like Allosteric Control DNA nanodevice concentration ranges nature-inspired control mechanisms allosteric effectors 2017-04-07 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/A_DNA_Nanodevice_That_Loads_and_Releases_a_Cargo_with_Hemoglobin-Like_Allosteric_Control_and_Cooperativity/4865303 Here we report the rational design of a synthetic molecular nanodevice that is directly inspired from hemoglobin, a highly evolved protein whose oxygen-carrying activity is finely regulated by a sophisticated network of control mechanisms. Inspired by the impressive performance of hemoglobin we have designed and engineered in vitro a synthetic DNA-based nanodevice containing up to four interacting binding sites that, like hemoglobin, can load and release a cargo over narrow concentration ranges, and whose affinity can be finely controlled via both allosteric effectors and environmental cues like pH and temperature. As the first example of a synthetic DNA nanodevice that undergoes a complex network of nature-inspired control mechanisms, this represents an important step toward the use of similar nanodevices for diagnostic and drug-delivery applications.