Using Origami DNA to Trap Big Viruses

A group of scientists from the Technical University of Munich and the College of Regensburg, both in Germany, has discovered that it is possible to develop origami DNA frameworks that can be used to trap large viruses. In their paper released in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the group explains how they constructed their frameworks and how well they functioned when tested.

As the global pandemic proceeds, albeit in a less deadly phase, the medical science community remains to look for methods to prevent people from becoming infected with not simply the SARS-CoV-2 virus but all viruses. One such approach involves using structures developed to attract viruses and, when they come close sufficiently, to trap them. In this new initiative, the researchers have tested the idea of using origami DNA.

DNA origami

DNA origami includes strands of DNA manipulated to produce two or three-dimensional shapes, all at the nanoscale. In this new work, the researchers broadened on previous work done by some of the staff member that together had developed a process for utilizing DNA origami to trap very small viral particles.

To produce bigger traps for bigger viruses, the team utilized both long and short strands of DNA that had been developed to stick together in helpful ways. They then utilized them to produce triangular 2D building blocks that, when put near each other, would snap with each other like challenge pieces. They then set to function, creating structures that they thought could serve as virus traps.

After confirming that the frameworks they had in mind had the preferred shapes, they coated the insides of them with chemicals or antibodies that are known to bind with viruses. They then tested the traps by putting them in the vicinity of live viruses. They found that the traps functioned as hoped, capturing viruses as big as 100nm in diameter. When trapped, viruses were not able to bond with other cells, thus stopping infections.

The scientists examined their traps with several kinds of viruses– from Zika to influenza to SARS-CoV-2– and discovered that they worked equally well on all of them. They likewise found that they might make them more resistant by shining a UV light on them and also by covering them with an oligosine polymer. They next plan to test their traps in live lab animals.

Read the orginal article on PHYS.

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