Intricate structures at nano scale using DNA referred as DNA origami are designed by researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, published in the journal Nature.

These structures that interact with cells and molecules in the body are not used to carry genetic material instead they are expected to be helpful in therapies like delivering drugs and binding with the cancer cells and restricting them from replication, according to Insight.

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Björn Högberg, lead author of the study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden noted that the biggest problem regarding nanotechnology is controlling the matter that is at nanoscale. He added that if the molecules at nanoscale could be arranged precisely then there are too many possibilities for application.

Högberg noted on the bunny shaped 3D DNA they constructed that it wasn't for any reason other than a demonstration that it is possible for scientists to generate any complex shape like as simple as a click on the mouse, reported to The Verge.

"We wanted to put the DNA strand on every edge of the polygonal shape once -- and if possible only once -- and then bring it back to its starting point, since it's a circular molecule," Högberg explained. He also added, "The learning curve is really improved here; it's really easy to design them now. But creating them hasn't really changed. To actually get them printed out, you have to order the DNA and pipette it together, and that's of course the barrier to entry for most people."

Thorsten Schmidt, a chemist at the Dresden University of Technology who wasn't a part of the study noted that this technique is novel and much surprising. Schmidt noted that they have one such study underway and is currently being reviewed; he added jokingly that the bad aspect of Björn Högberg is that they were a bit faster than them.

Nature, physicist Tim Liedl wrote on Högberg study, "This is not the first study to present polygon meshes constructed from DNA - decades of research have produced dozens of methods for building DNA-based polyhedra and wireframe structures. But the current work arguably presents the most versatile and streamlined design method," reported The Washington Post.

TagsDNA origami, nanotechnology, Drugs, Cancer, DNA