Switching Photonic and Electrochemical Functions of a DNAzyme by DNA Machines

Abstract

DNA nanostructures acting as DNA machines are described. Specifically, DNA "walkers" assembled on nucleic acid scaffolds and triggered by fuel/antifuel strands are activated in solution or on surfaces, for example, electrodes or semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The DNA machines led to the switchable formation or dissociation of the hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme on the DNA scaffolds. This enabled the chemiluminescence, chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET), electrochemical, or photoelectrochemical transduction of the switchable states of the different DNA machines.