Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The remodelling of biological membranes underpins a diverse range of sophisticated cellular processes, from cell crawling to mitosis to pathogen infection cycles. A refined understanding of the biophysical principles governing lipid bilayer remodelling is necessary to engineer ever-more advanced behaviours in microrobots, like synthetic cells, with disruptive applications in both fundamental biology and advanced biotechnology. Owing to its ability to afford control over structural and functional properties at the nano-scale, DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a prime toolkit to engineer, program, and host biomimetic responses within lipid bilayer membranes. This Perspective review surveys advances on biomimetic membrane remodelling pathways coordinated by DNA nanostructures. I discuss strategies to prescribe the interactions of DNA nanostructures with lipid bilayers, and summarise progress to drive membrane remodelling events including lateral patterning, out-of-plane restructuring, fusion, and scission. Finally, I discuss current challenges alongside the yet untapped potential of nucleic acid nanostructures in membrane bioengineering to coordinate sophisticated behaviours in synthetic cells.
Source: ChemRxiv
Author: Roger Rubio Sánchez
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7215047988