Allosteric Control of Oxidative Catalysis by a DNA Rotaxane Nanostructure

DNA is a versatile construction material for the bottom-up assembly of structures and functional devices in the nanoscale. Additionally, there are specific sequences called DNAzymes that can fold into tertiary structures that display catalytic activity. Here we report the design of an interlocked DNA nanostructure that is able to fine-tune the oxidative catalytic activity of a split DNAzyme in a highly controllable manner. As scaffold, we employed a double-stranded DNA rotaxane for its ability to undergo programmable and predictable conformational changes. Precise regulation of the DNAzyme’s oxidative catalysis can be achieved by external stimuli (i.e., addition of release oligos) that modify the spatial arrangement within the system, without interfering with the catalytic core, similar to structural rearrangements that occur in allosterically controlled enzymes. We show that multiple switching steps between the active and inactive conformations can be performed consistent with efficient regulation and robust control of the DNA nanostructure.