Bioactive Fibronectin-III10-DNA Origami Nanofibers Promote Cell Adhesion and Spreading

Integrating proteins with DNA nanotechnology would enable materials with diverse applications in biology, medicine, and engineering. Here, we describe a method for incorporating bioactive fibronectin domain proteins with DNA nanostructures using two orthogonal coiled-coil peptides. One peptide from each coiled-coil pair is attached to a DNA origami cuboid in a multivalent fashion by attaching the peptides to DNA handles. These structures can then be assembled into one-dimensional arrays through the addition of a fibronectin domain linker genetically fused with the complementary peptides to those on the origami. We validate array formation using two different self-assembly protocols and characterize the fibers by atomic force and electron microscopy. Finally, we demonstrate that surfaces coated with the protein-DNA nanofibers can serve as biomaterial substrates for fibroblast adhesion and spreading, with the nanofibers enhancing bioactivity compared with the monomeric protein.