posted on 2022-12-27, 13:03authored byNanpu Cao, Wanhao Cai, Lu Qian, Zhou Nie, Chengde Mao, Shuxun Cui
Titin, a giant protein containing multiple tandem domains,
is essential
in maintaining the superior mechanical performance of muscle. The
consecutive and reversible unfolding and refolding of the domains
are crucial for titin to serve as a modular spring. Since the discovery
of the mechanical features of a single titin molecule, the exploration
of biomimetic materials with titin-emulating modular structures has
been an active field. However, it remains a challenge to prepare these
modular polymers on a large scale due to the complex synthesis process.
In this study, we propose modular DNA with multiple hairpins (MH-DNA)
as the fundamental block for the bottom-up design of advanced materials.
By analyzing the unfolding and refolding dynamics of modular hairpins
by atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy
(SMFS), we find that MH-DNA shows comparable stability to those of
polyproteins like titin. The unique low hysteresis of modular hairpin
makes it an ideal molecular spring with remarkable mechanical efficiency.
On the basis of the well-established DNA synthesis techniques, we
anticipate that MH-DNA can be used as a promising building block for
advanced materials with a combination of superior structural stability,
considerable extensibility, and high mechanical efficiency.