Toward large nanostructures

We describe here the enzymatic production of unusually long sequences of DNA with structural significance for nanostructure self-assembly. A circular template is generated via enzymatic cyclization of a 95 base linear oligonucleotide which then serves as a substrate for DNA polymerases. these 95mer-circles are efficient templates, leading to the production of tandem repeat strands as long as 15,000 bases. Our studies further demonstrate the repetitive nature of the product by enzymatic cleavage giving unit-length oligonucleotides. The rolling circle amplification technique presents a useful method for generating well defined, macroscopic components of DNA nanostructures.