The remarkable performance and quantum efficiency of biological light-harvesting complexes has prompted a multidisciplinary interest in engineering biologically inspired antenna systems as a possible route to novel solar cell technologies. Key to the effectiveness of biological “nanomachines” in light capture and energy transport is their highly ordered nanoscale architecture of photoactive molecules. Recently, DNA origami has emerged as a powerful tool for organizing multiple chromophores with base-pair accuracy and full geometric freedom. Here, we present a programmable antenna array on a DNA origami platform that enables the implementation of rationally designed antenna structures. We systematically analyze the light-harvesting efficiency with respect to number of donors and interdye distances of a ring-like antenna using ensemble and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and detailed Förster modeling. This comprehensive study demonstrates exquisite and reliable structural control over multichromophoric geometries and points to DNA origami as highly versatile platform for testing design concepts in artificial light-harvesting networks.

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We explore the potential of DNA nanotechnology for developing novel optical voltage sensing nano-devices that convert a local change of electric potential into optical signals. As a proof-of-concept of the sensing mechanism, we assembled voltage responsive DNA origami structures labelled with a single pair of FRET dyes. The DNA structures were reversibly immobilised on a nanocapillary tip and underwent controlled structural changes upon application of an electric field. The applied field was monitored through a change in FRET efficiency. By exchanging the position of a single dye, we could tune the voltage sensitivity of our DNA origami structure, demonstrating the flexibility and versatility of our approach. The experimental studies were complemented by coarse-grained simulations that characterised voltage-dependent elastic deformation of the DNA nanostructures and the associated change in the distance between the FRET pair. Our work opens a novel pathway for determining the mechanical properties of DNA origami structures, and highlights potential applications of dynamic DNA nanostructures as voltage sensors.

Wide field‐of‐view (FOV), label‐free, super‐resolution imaging is demonstrated using a specially designed waveguide chip that can illuminate a sample with multicolor evanescent waves travelling along different directions. The method is enabled by a polymer fluorescent film that emits over a broad wavelength range. Its polygonal geometry ensures coverage over all illumination directions, enabling high‐fidelity image reconstruction while minimizing distortion and image blurring. By frequency shifting and iterative stitching of different spatial frequencies in Fourier space, the reconstruction of 2D samples is achieved without distortion over wide FOVs. The fabrication process is facile and compatible with conventional semiconductor‐fabrication methods. The super‐resolution chip (SRC) can thus be produced with high yield, offering opportunities for potential conjunction of super‐resolution techniques integrated optical circuits or for the development of single‐use diagnostic kits.

Fibrillar amyloids exhibit a fascinating range of mechanical, optical, and electronic properties originating from their characteristic β-sheet-rich structure. Harnessing these functionalities in practical applications has so far been hampered by a limited ability to control the amyloid self-assembly process at the macroscopic scale. Here, we use core–shell electrospinning with microconfinement to assemble amyloid-hybrid fibers, consisting of densely aggregated fibrillar amyloids stabilized by a polymer shell. Up to centimeter-long hybrid fibers with micrometer diameter can be arranged into aligned and ordered arrays and deposited onto substrates or produced as free-standing networks. Properties that are characteristic of amyloids, including their high elastic moduli and intrinsic fluorescence signature, are retained in the hybrid fiber cores, and we show that they fully persist through the macroscopic fiber patterns. Our findings suggest that microlevel confinement is key for the guided assembly of amyloids from monomeric proteins.