Large-Conductance Transmembrane Porin Made from DNA Origami

Abstract

DNA nanotechnology allows for the creation of three-dimensional structures at nanometer scale. Here, we use DNA to build the largest synthetic pore in a lipid membrane to date, approaching the dimensions of the nuclear pore complex and increasing the pore-area and the conductance 10-fold compared to previous man-made channels. In our design, 19 cholesterol tags anchor a megadalton funnel-shaped DNA origami porin in a lipid bilayer membrane. Confocal imaging and ionic current recordings reveal spontaneous insertion of the DNA porin into the lipid membrane, creating a transmembrane pore of tens of nanosiemens conductance. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations characterize the conductance mechanism at the atomic level and independently confirm the DNA porins’ large ionic conductance.