Castro and Su Awarded NSF Grant

Assistant ME Professors Carlos Castro and Haijun Su have received a three-year grant of $400,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF), for the project entitled “Design of DNA Origami Machines and Mechanisms." Castro, who is named the principal investigator, and co-investigator Su, expect their research to facilitate future application of DNA origami machines. As part of the project, a computer aided design and simulation program will be developed that facilitates conceptual mechanism design and automates the integration of DNA origami links and joints. 

The award was granted through the NSF Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation. Their research award provides funding for the development of a systematic design framework for nanoscale machines and mechanisms using DNA origami nanotechnology. Acccording to their research abstract, "DNA origami enables construction of two and three-dimensional nanoscale shapes with unprecedented geometric complexity via molecular self-assembly. The majority of DNA origami research focuses on assembly of static 2D or 3D structures. The goal of this work is to incorporate functional dynamic parts with directed motion into the DNA origami design toolbox." To achieve this goal, Castro and Su will implement a kinematics approach to design DNA origami machines and mechanisms that are comprised of links and joints, similar to macroscale machines. They will also design and fabricate a catalogue of various DNA origami links and joints, which will note how their mechanical properties will be characterized experimentally and by molecular simulation. The researchers will create proof-of-principle studies that will detail how links and joints will be implemented in the design of prototype mechanisms. As a result, a new theory called projection kinematics will be developed to evaluate the three-dimensional motion of these prototype mechanisms from two-dimensional electron microscopy snapshots.