Sustained, Reversible, and Adaptive Non‐Equilibrium Steady States of a Dissipative DNA‐Based System
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Inspired by nature, researchers have developed several chemical fuel-driven supramolecular systems aimed at achieving improved kinetic control over their formation and functions. Alongside, DNA-based systems regulated by energy-dissipating mechanisms have been reported. However, the majority of these systems rely on batchwise additions of chemical fuels to closed reactors, resulting in transient non-equilibrium states that differ fundamentally from the sustained and highly adaptable non-equilibrium steady states (NESS) maintained by living systems through continuous energy dissipation. Here, we demonstrate sustained NESS of a dissipative DNA strand-displacement reaction achieved through the continuous supply of an RNA fuel to an open semi-batch reactor, using a custom automated setup that enables tunable fuel infusion rates and in situ analysis. Similar to biological NESS, our system dynamically adapts in real-time to subtle variations in fuel supply, achieving different steady-state levels of the strand-displacement reaction. Our approach demonstrates remarkable on-the-fly control over a dissipative DNA nanosystem, unachievable when working under batch conditions. Importantly, by fitting the experimental data to a kinetic model of the reaction network, we were able to confirm that the observed steady states correspond to true non-equilibrium compositions of the system.
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,510
Awards: G1016895160, G1485990446, G2262748287, G3005324705, G3480869486, G3681454997, G3681792563, G4042783231, G425668148, G505402702, G5080475149, G5426629754, G544149491, Functional 2D porous crystalline materials (2DMats), G6731524417, G7084143925, G722848285, G7805626310, G7863371703, G8497050386, G993971353
OpenAlex ID: W4413840416