Research

DNA nanotechnology

Björn Högberg

Using a method called DNA-origami, the Högberg lab is working on enabling technologies that uses nanoscale structures of DNA an proteins. The basics of the method is to take one long, single-stranded DNA molecule, called the scaffold, mixing that scaffold with about 200 short, single-stranded oligonucleotides, called staples. As all of the short staple oligos hybridize to the long single stranded scaffold during a slow thermal annealing, nanoscale shapes of all kinds can be produced. After self-assembly of the DNA nanostructures, the exact position of each oligo is known. By exchanging certain staple oligos for DNA-protein conjugates, the Högberg lab is producing rationally designed nanoscale patterns of proteins.