posted on 2021-12-27, 11:29authored byAlexander
L. Danesi, Dimitra Athanasiadou, Abdulmateen O. Aderinto, Prakash Rasie, Leo Y. T. Chou, Karina M. M. Carneiro
The
guiding principle for mineralized tissue formation is that
mineral growth occurs through the interaction of Ca2+ and
phosphate ions with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Recently,
nanoengineered DNA structures have been proposed as mimics to ECM
scaffolds. However, these principles have not been applied to mineralized
tissues. Here, we describe DNA nanostructures, namely, a DNA nanotube
and a DNA origami rectangle that are site specifically functionalized
with a mineral-promoting “SSEE” peptide derived from
ECM proteins present in mineralized tissues. In the presence of Ca2+ and phosphate ions (mineralizing conditions), site-specific
calcium phosphate formation occurred on the DNA nanostructures. Amorphous
calcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite was formed depending on the incubation
time, shape of the DNA nanostructure, and amount of Ca2+ and phosphate ions present. The ability to design and control the
growth of hydroxyapatite through nanoengineered scaffolds provides
insights into the mechanisms that may occur during crystal nucleation
and growth of mineralized tissues and can inspire mineralized tissue
regeneration strategies.