Here, we explore
the extended utility of two important functional
biomolecules, DNA and protein, by hybridizing them through avidin–biotin
conjugation. We report a simple yet scalable technique of successive
magnetic separations to synthesize traptavidin–DNA conjugates
with four distinct DNA binding sites that can be used as a supramolecular
building block for programmable assembly of nanostructures. Using
this nanoassembly platform, we fabricate several different plasmonic
nanostructures with various metallic as well as semiconductor nanoparticles
in predetermined ways. We also use the platform to construct dendrimer
nanostructures using valency-controlled traptavidin–DNA conjugates
in a programmable manner. These results suggest that our protein–DNA
supramolecular building blocks would make a significant contribution
to the assembly of multicomponent and complex nanostructures for numerous
contemporary and future applications from molecular imaging to drug
delivery.
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