WIREFRAME NANOSTRUCTURES
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to nanotechnology and, in particular, to wireframe nanostructures which may be formed from nucleic acids. In various aspects, the invention relates to molecular structures having a plurality of vertices and pathways connecting the vertices, which may be formed from nucleic acids, including bundles or tubes of nucleic acids. Such molecular structures may form shapes such as icosahedrons, octahedrons, tetrahedrons, or other polyhedra, which may define an interior space. The interior space may be used, for example, to contain a molecule for further study, or to contain a molecule for drug delivery purposes. In some cases, the molecular structure may be stabilized using relatively short nucleic acid strands that interact with two or more nucleic acid portions within the structure, thereby substantially immobilizing the portions relative to each other. Other aspects of the invention relate to techniques for forming such molecular structures, techniques for using such molecular structures, techniques of promoting such molecular structures, kits involving such molecular structures, and the like.
2 Citations
130 Claims
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1-118. -118. (canceled)
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119. A composition, comprising:
a solution, comprising a plurality of substantially identical molecular structures, each molecular structure defining a plurality of vertices and pathways forming a polyhedral structure defining a hollow three-dimensional interior space, the vertices each having at least three pathways emanating therefrom, each pathway connecting two vertices, wherein each pathway connecting two vertices comprises a nanotube comprising a plurality of nucleic acids, wherein the molecular structure has a smallest dimension in any direction that is at least about 100 nm. - View Dependent Claims (120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127)
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128. A composition, comprising:
a solution, comprising a plurality of substantially identical molecular structures, each molecular structure defining a plurality of vertices and pathways forming a polyhedral structure defining a hollow three-dimensional interior space, the vertices each having at least three pathways emanating therefrom, each pathway connecting two vertices, wherein each pathway connecting two vertices comprises nanotubes comprising a plurality of nucleic acids and each pathway has a length between the two vertices of at least about 100 nm. - View Dependent Claims (129)
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130. A composition, comprising:
a solution, comprising a plurality of substantially identical molecular structures, each molecular structure defining a polyhedral structure comprising a plurality of vertices and pathways defining a hollow three-dimensional interior space, the vertices each having at least three pathways emanating therefrom, each pathway connecting two vertices, each pathway of the molecular structure being formed from a nanotube comprising a plurality of nucleic acids, and the interior space having a smallest dimension in any direction of at least about 100 nm and being free of the nucleic acids forming the molecular structure.
Specification