DNA nano-box named 2009 research breakthrough of the year by Danish engineering journal Ingeniøren
Media release
Nanoscientists from Aarhus account for the best research result of the year for their nanoscale boxes with lids that can be opened and closed. They are currently investigating options for using the boxes for applications in medicine, sensors and computers.
In the Danish magazine Året Rundt (All Year Round) published on Friday 18 December along with the usual edition of Ingeniøren (the Danish engineering journal), the DNA nano-box was elected 2009 research breakthrough of the year for science and technology.
Responsible for this research is a team of scientists from the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for DNA Nanotechnology (CDNA) and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO) at Aarhus University. In May 2009, they published an article in the journal Nature, in which they describe the design and production of the smallest box in the world. The building blocks used to make the nanoscale box are DNA molecules, and the box measures approximately 33 x 34 x 48 cubic nanometres, which means that about 30,000 of these boxes can lie in a row of 1 millimetre. The box also has a lid that can be opened, and this is the most complex man-made nanostructure to date that is formed by self-assembly. This research is a major breakthrough in basic science and has promising application potential in medicine and diagnostics.
Link to previous media release: http://science.au.dk/en/news-and-events/news-article/article/aarhusforskning-i-nature-smaa-nano-kasser-med-stort-potentiale// here
Contact persons
Ebbe Andersen, +45 8942 2634, esa@mb.au.dk
Flemming Besenbacher, +45 8942 3604, fbe@inano.dk
Kurt Gothelf, +45 8942 3907, kvg@chem.au.dk
Jørgen Kjems, +45 8942 2686, jk@mb.au.dk