Topographical features enhance DNA tetrahedron biostability

DNA tetrahedra with integrated hairpins show increased nuclease resistance, and this biostability enhancement scales with the number of hairpins in the structure.

• Why it matters: Nuclease stabilization is a key barrier to translating nucleic acid nanostructures into biomedical applications.
• What they did: Hairpins were integrated within the edges of DNA tetrahedra, and their stabilization against nucleases was assessed by varying the number of hairpins and analyzing sequence specificity.
• The result: Nuclease resistance increases with hairpin count, and the enhancement is specific to the sequences within the hairpins, enabling a design strategy for inherently biostable nucleic acid nanostructures.