News Release

Researchers used a LEGO robotics kit as a cheap, effective way to purify self-assembling DNA origami

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Gradient-mixing LEGO robots for purifying DNA origami nanostructures of multiple components by rate-zonal centrifugation

image: Side view of the LEGO gradient mixer during (A) its initial position and (B) its horizontal tilting phase. (1) 3D printed centrifuge-tube holder. (2) Spinning motor to rotate the tubes while in horizontal position. (3) Turning servo motor responsible for tilting the tubes horizontally. (4) Large grey gear connecting the two motors with its small gear complement. (5) The scaffold holding the structure together. (6) The LEGO controller for orchestrating the motions of the two motors. The black cables are traced in white for clarity. view more 

Credit: Sentosa et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283134

Article Title: Gradient-mixing LEGO robots for purifying DNA origami nanostructures of multiple components by rate-zonal centrifugation

Author Countries: USA

Funding: The research in Hariadi lab was supported by the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award (1DP2AI144247), National Science Foundation SemiSynBio II (2027215), and Arizona Biomedical Research Consortium (ADHS17-00007401). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


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