The DNA origami technique itself is considered a milestone of DNA nanotechnology and DNA origami nanorulers represent the first widespread application of this technique. DNA origami nanorulers are used to demonstrate the capabilities of techniques and are valuable training samples. They have meanwhile been developed for a multitude of microscopy methods including optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electron microscopy, and their unique properties are further exploited to develop point-light sources, brightness references, nanophotonic test structures, and alignment tools for correlative microscopy. In this perspective, we provide an overview of the basics of DNA origami nanorulers and their increasing applications in fields of optical and especially super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. In addition, emerging applications of reference structures based on DNA origami are discussed together with recent developments.

The synthesis of the new hybrid guanidine ligands DMEGdmap, DMEGdeae, TMGdmab, DMEGdmab, TMGdeab and DMEGdeab is reported. These ligands were combined with zinc chloride, and the six obtained new complexes were structurally characterised by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Further six new zinc chloride complexes were obtained from the hybrid guanidine ligands TMGdmae, DMEGdmae, TMGdeae, TMGdmap, TMGdeap and TEGdeap. Each of the twelve com- [a]

Eight new zinc complexes of bisguanidine ligands have been structurally characterised and tested for the polymerisation of lactide. Initially this necessitated the preparation of the new six bisguanidine ligands [TMG 2 thf, DMEG 2 thf, trans-TMG 2 (1,2)ch, trans-DMEG 2 (1,2)ch, R,R-TMG 2 (1,2)ch, R,R-DMEG 2 (1,2)ch]. With these ligands in hand, zinc chlorido complexes could be obtained, which were characterized by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, two new zinc chlorido complexes are reported, based on previous bisguanidine ligands [TMG 2 (1,3)ch, DMEG 2 (1,3)ch]. All complexes show a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry. These eight complexes are utilised as catalysts in melt polymerization

DNA nanotechnology and advances in the DNA origami technique have enabled facile design and synthesis of complex and functional nanostructures. Molecular devices are, however, prone to rapid functional and structural degradation due to the high proportion of surface atoms at the nanoscale and due to complex working environments. Besides stabilizing mechanisms, approaches for the self‐repair of functional molecular devices are desirable. Here we exploit the self‐assembly and reconfigurability of DNA origami nanostructures to induce the self‐repair of defects of photoinduced and enzymatic damage. We provide examples of repair in DNA nanostructures showing the difference between unspecific self‐regeneration and damage specific self‐healing mechanisms. Using DNA origami nanorulers studied by atomic force and superresolution DNA PAINT microscopy, quantitative preservation of fluorescence properties is demonstrated with direct potential for improving nanoscale calibration samples.

Particle size is an important characteristic of materials with a direct effect on their physicochemical features. Besides nanoparticles, particle size and surface curvature are particularly important in the world of lipids and cellular membranes as the cell membrane undergoes conformational changes in many biological processes which leads to diverging local curvature values. On account of that, it is important to develop cost-effective, rapid and sufficiently precise systems that can measure the surface curvature on the nanoscale that can be translated to size for spherical particles. As an alternative approach for particle characterization, we present flexible DNA nanodevices that can adapt to the curvature of the structure they are bound to. The curvature sensors use Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) as the transduction mechanism on the single-molecule level. The curvature sensors consist of segmented DNA origami structures connected via flexible DNA linkers incorporating a FRET pair. The activity of the sensors was first demonstrated with defined binding to different DNA origami geometries used as templates. Then the DNA origami curvature sensors were applied to measure spherical silica beads having different size, and subsequently on lipid vesicles. With the designed sensors, we could reliably distinguish different sized nanoparticles within a size range of 50−300 nm as well as the bending angle range of 50−180°. This study helps with the development of more advanced modular-curvature sensing devices that are capable of determining the sizes of nanoparticles and biological complexes.

DNA nanotechnology allows for the fabrication of nanometer‐sized objects with high precision and selective addressability as a result of the programmable hybridization of complementary DNA strands. Such structures can template the formation of other materials, including metals and complex silica nanostructures, where the silica shell simultaneously acts to protect the DNA from external detrimental factors. However, the formation of silica nanostructures with site‐specific addressability has thus far not been explored. Here, it is shown that silica nanostructures templated by DNA origami remain addressable for post silicification modification with guest molecules even if the silica shell measures several nm in thickness. The conjugation of fluorescently labeled oligonucleotides is used to different silicified DNA origami structures carrying a complementary ssDNA handle as well as DNA‐PAINT super‐resolution imaging to show that ssDNA handles remain unsilicified and thus ensure retained addressability. It is also demonstrated that not only handles, but also ssDNA scaffold segments within a DNA origami nanostructure remain accessible, allowing for the formation of dynamic silica nanostructures. Finally, the power of this approach is demonstrated by forming 3D DNA origami crystals from silicified monomers. These results thus present a fully site‐specifically addressable silica nanostructure with complete control over size and shape.

DNA nanotechnology allows for the fabrication of nano-meter-sized objects with high precision and selective addressability as a result of the programmable hybridization of complementary DNA strands. Such structures can template the formation of other materials, including metals and complex silica nanostructures, where the silica shell simultaneously acts to protect the DNA from external detrimental factors. However, the formation of silica nanostructures with site-specific addressability has thus far not been explored. Here we show that silica nanostructures templated by DNA origami remain addressable for post silicification modification with guest molecules even if the silica shell measures several nm in thickness. We used the conjugation of fluorescently labelled oligonucleotides to different silicified DNA origami structures carrying a complementary ssDNA handle as well as DNA PAINT super-resolution imaging to show that ssDNA handles remain unsilicified and thus ensure retained addressability. We also demonstrate that not only handles, but also ssDNA scaffold segments within a DNA origami nanostructure remain accessible, allowing for the formation of dynamic silica nanostructures. Finally we demonstrate the power of this approach by forming 3D DNA origami crystals from silicified monomers. Our results thus present a fully site-specifically addressable silica nanostructure with complete control over size and shape.

DNA‐Nanotechnologie und Fortschritte in der DNA‐Origami‐Technik haben das einfache Design und die Synthese komplexer und funktioneller Nanostrukturen ermöglicht. Jedoch sind molekulare Geräte aufgrund des hohen Anteils von Oberflächenatomen und der komplexen Einsatzbedingungen im Nanomaßstab anfällig für eine schnelle funktionelle und strukturelle Degradierung. Neben Stabilisierungsmechanismen sind Ansätze zur Selbstreparatur funktioneller molekularer Geräte wünschenswert. Hier nutzen wir die selbst‐assemblierenden und rekonfigurierbaren Eigenschaften von DNA‐Origami‐Nanostrukturen für die Selbstreparatur von photoinduzierten und enzymatischen Schäden aus. Wir geben Beispiele für die Reparatur von DNA‐Nanostrukturen, die den Unterschied zwischen unspezifischer Selbstregeneration und schadensspezifischer Selbstheilung aufzeigen. Anhand von DNA‐Origami‐Nanolinealen, die mit Rasterkraftmikroskopie und DNA‐PAINT‐Superauflösungs‐Mikroskopie untersucht wurden, demonstrieren wir die quantitative Aufrechterhaltung der Fluoreszenzeigenschaften mit direktem Potenzial zur Verbesserung nanoskaliger Kalibrierproben.