RNA origami

RNA nanotechnology combines the simplistic design and manipulation characteristic of DNA, with the additional flexibility in structure and diversity in function similar to that of proteins.

[5] RNA's versatility in structure and function, favorable in vivo attributes, and bottom-up self-assembly is an ideal avenue for developing biomaterial and nanoparticle drug delivery.

The first work in RNA origami appeared in Science, published by Ebbe S. Andersen of Aarhus University.

[7] Researchers at Aarhus University used various 3D models and computer software to design individual RNA origami.

Observation of RNA was primarily done through atomic force microscopy, a technique that allows researchers to look at molecules a thousand times closer than would normally be possible with a conventional light microscope.

The next process is creating the 2D structure describing the strand path and base pairs from the 3D model.

This is largely a result of four different nucleotides: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and uracil (U), and ability to form non-canonical base pairs.

DNA are unable to forms these tertiary motifs and thereby cannot match the functional capacity of RNA in performing more versatile tasks.

Additionally, the DNA origami's molecular breakup is not easily incorporated into the genetic material of an organism.

RNA origami is a new concept and has great potential for applications in nanomedicine and synthetic biology.

Aptamer structures allow the binding of small molecules which gives possibilities for construction of future RNA based nanodevices.

[6] Perhaps the most important future application for RNA origami is building scaffolds to arrange other microscopic proteins and allow them to work with one another.