PubReading [4] Triplex-forming oligonucleotides: a third strand for DNA nanotechnology - Arun Chandrasekaran, David Rusling - Nucleic Acids Research

DNA self-assembly has proved to be a useful bottom- up strategy for the construction of user-defined nanoscale objects, lattices and devices. The design of these structures has largely relied on exploiting simple base-pairing rules and the formation of double-helical domains as secondary structural elements. However, other helical forms involving specific non-canonical base-base interactions have introduced a novel paradigm into the process of engineering with DNA. The most notable of these is a three-stranded complex generated by the binding of a third strand within the duplex major groove, generating a triple-helical (‘triplex’) structure. The sequence, structural and assembly requirements that differentiate triplexes from their duplex counterparts has allowed the design of nanostructures for b ...