A DNA Origami Bubble Blower for Liposome Production

What is it about?

In nature, liposomes are typically produced on a large scale with sizes ranging from hundreds of nanometers to a few micrometers, resulting in a lot of size variation. Reliably making synthetic liposomes this small is challenging. In this study, we present a DNA origami “bubble blower”- a tiny ring structure that can help form and control the size of small liposomes and can also be used to produce nanometer-sized liposomes. This new and interesting method of using DNA origami, where DNA forms a structured "exoskeleton", helps lipids assemble into vesicles with a specific size and shape. The size and shape of the DNA template decide the size and shape of the liposomes it helps create. Because DNA origami is highly consistent, this method produces liposomes under 100 nanometers with less size variation than traditional mechanical methods. Interestingly, the DNA structure can stay attached to the liposome, allowing it to serve as a platform to organize liposomes at set positions and distances. This setup has been useful for studying how lipids move without vesicles.

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Why is it important?

Lab-made vesicles and liposomes are very useful in scientific research. They help scientists study membrane proteins, are essential for building artificial cells from scratch, and are widely used to deliver drugs to specific parts of the body. A recent example of their use is in delivering mRNA for COVID-19 vaccines. Common methods for making tiny vesicles and liposomes are time consuming and often requires special custom-built equipment. This research improves existing DNA-based methods for making liposomes which could enable semi-automated production of small, customizable liposomes in labs.

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