Fall 2020: Nanoscale Manufacturing Using Structural DNA Nanotechnology

24-684 Special Topics: Nanoscale Manufacturing Using Structural DNA Nanotechnology

12 units

This course provides an introduction to modern nanoscale manufacturing using structural DNAnanotechnology. This DNA-based approach to manufacturing has much in common with other fabrication methods in micro- and nano-engineering: computer aided design tools are necessary for device design and resulting structures can only be seen using advanced microscopy. However, instead of machining larger materials down to micro- and nanostructures, DNA origami is fabricated using a "bottom up" approach for self-assembling individual oligonucleotides into 2D and 3D nanostructures. Resulting structures can be designed to have novel mechanical and electrical properties and have applications as broad-ranging as medicine, biological computing, and energy systems. The course will include lectures, hands-on physical modeling, homework problems, 3D modeling of DNA origami using caDNAno and CANDO software, and student team projects and presentations.