DNA nanotechnology
![DNA nanotechnology involves the creation of artificial, designed nanostructures out of nucleic acids, such as this DNA tetrahedron.[1] Each edge of the tetrahedron is a 20 base pair DNA double helix, and each vertex is a three-arm junction. The 4 DNA strands that form the 4 tetrahedral faces are color-coded.](/uploads/202501/29/DNA_tetrahedron_white0839.png)
![These four strands associate into a DNA four-arm junction because this structure maximizes the number of correct base pairs, with A matched to T and C matched to G.[2][3] See this image for a more realistic model of the four-arm junction showing its tertiary structure.](/uploads/202501/29/Неподвижная_структура_Холлидея_(англ.).svg0839.png)
![The assembly of a DX array. Left, schematic diagram. Each bar represents a double-helical domain of DNA, with the shapes representing complementary sticky ends. The DX complex at top will combine with other DX complexes into the two-dimensional array shown at bottom.[2] Right, an atomic force microscope image of the assembled array. The individual DX tiles are clearly visible within the assembled structure. The field is 150 nm across.](/uploads/202501/29/Mao-DXarray-schematic-small0839.gif)

DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of artificial nucleic acid structures for technological uses. In this field, nucleic acids are used as non-biological engineering materials for nanotechnology rather than as the carriers of genetic information in living cells. Researchers in the field have created static structures such as two- and three-dimensional crystal lattices, nanotubes, polyhedra, and arbitrary shapes, as well as functional devices such as molecular machines and DNA computers. The field is beginning to be used as a tool to solve basic science problems in structural biology and biophysics, including applications in crystallography and spectroscopy for protein structure determination. Potential applications in molecular scale electronics and nanomedicine are also being investigated.