Icosahedral DNA Nanocapsules by Modular Assembly

The construction of well-defined 3D architectures is one of the greatest challenges of self-assembly. Nanofabrication through molecular self-assembly has resulted in the formation of DNA polyhedra with the connectivities of cubes,[1] tetrahedra,[2,3] octahedra,[4, 5] dodecahedra,[3] and buckminsterfullerene.[ 3] DNA polyhedra could also function as nanocapsules and thereby enable the targeted delivery of entities encapsulated from solution. Key to realizing this envisaged function is the construction of complex polyhedra that maximize encapsulation volumes while preserving small. pore size.