Review From DNA liquid crystals to “rigid” DNA liquid-crystalline particles (DNA nanoconstructions)

The investigation of new DNA-based materials is an emerging area in material science as well as in physics, biosensorics, biotechnology, bionanotechnology. This review shows the state of the art in the fundamental studies of liquid crystals and liquid-crystalline dispersions of DNA molecules obtained as a result of their phase exclusion from water-salt polymer-containing solutions. The results presented in this review demonstrate how the fundamental data obtained when studying the physicochemical properties of DNA liquid-crystalline dispersions can be used as a background for a “liquid” → “rigid” state transition. It compares two different approaches in the transformation of “liquid” double-stranded DNA liquid-crystalline particles into their “rigid” state. The first approach is based on intraparticle gelation of DNA molecules ordered in quasinematic layers of the liquidcrystalline particles. Second one is based on induction of interaction between DNA molecules via linear gold nanoparticle clusters formed between these molecules. Both approaches result in creation of novel types of “rigid” DNA biomaterials which display unique properties of practical importance.