Design of DNA Origami-Engineered Tetrahedral Nanorobots

During the past decade, DNA origami has emerged as a promising technology to construct DNA nanorobots with programmable configurations and excellent biocompatibility. However, existing DNA origami-based nanorobots exhibit weak stability in complex biological environments and lack efficient delivery capabilities when serving as drug carriers. This study introduces a reconfigurable tetrahedral DNA nanorobot, whose conformational transition pathways are validated by multi-resolution molecular dynamics simulations. Building on this, we systematically analyzed the structural stability of the tetrahedral nanorobot using multiple simulation methods. We then fabricated the specific molecule-triggered tetrahedral DNA nanorobot with high structural stability and efficient drug delivery capacity. The proposed nanorobot was further employed for the recognition and inhibition of circulating tumor cells. These results highlight the application potential of the proposed DNA origami-engineered nanorobot in biomedicine and nanosensing.