DNA origami
DNA origami is a widely studied method of self-assembly that takes advantage of the complementarity of the base pairs of strands of DNA, meaning that two specific base pairs always pair together (adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine) by hydrogen bonding.
these systems were very slow, had a low assembly or operation yield, or were unable to exert appreciable forces against external loading.
The authors recognize the significant achievement and potential of what others have done, but also note the ways in which the previous work can be improved. The goal of this paper is to build upon others' results and to develop new ideas to try to improve upon what has been done.
actuator
the part that causes the movement of the systems
In our experiment, we deliberately abandoned sequence-specific switching and used electrical fields to move the components of a DNA machine with respect to each other.
This is the hypothesis and plan in response to the authors' goal to design an improved moveable robotic system that is faster and more efficient than previous systems.
DNA self-assembly
Self-assembly is the spontaneous organization of preformed components into patterns or arrangements held together by reversible forces. In molecular self-assembly the components are molecules and the forces are non-covalent forces like hydrogen bonding. In DNA self-assembly, the molecules are DNA molecules.
bionanotechnology
Nanotechnology, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, "is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nm."
Bionanotechnology is the use of nanotechnology to biological problems or applications such as medicine or agriculture.
For more information on nanotechnology, why it's important, and how it is being used, visit www.nano.gov.
supramolecular chemistry
Supramolecular chemistry is the chemistry not of individual atoms and molecules which combine and are held together by covalent bonds, but of complexes of multiple molecules together which are held together by weaker, reversible non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, or electrostatic interactions (the attraction of like charges).
bottom up
an approach that involves the combining of smaller pieces or units into a larger or more complex system
Nanoscale
Nanoscale refers to a length scale in nanometers (abbreviated nm), typically less than 100 nm. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter, so objects on the nanoscale are not visible to the unaided eye.
For a visualization of the different size scales of the universe, see the videa "The Scale of the Universe 2" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaGEjrADGPA
dynamic
Able to change or move.