Eric Drexler describes how zinc fingers for gripping DNA have game changing promise in genetic engineering and therapeutics, and can enable potential applications in structural DNA nanotechnology.
A Zinc finger proteins (ZFP) is a sequence of small protein structures (the fingers) that, taken together, bind to a specific DNA sequence. Unlike oligonucleotides, which bind to the Watson-Crick interface of single-stranded DNA, ZFPs bind in the major groove of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), recognizing DNA base pairs from the side. They’re modular and can be engineered to target sequences chosen by a designer. This is an enabler for the DNA/protein/special-structure approach to modular molecular composite nanosystems.
Drexler has a 19 slide presentation on the DNA/protein/special-structure approach to modular molecular composite nanosystems
Drexler Take-away messages:
* Paths are now open toward complex,self-assembled, heterogenous nanosystems
* Diverse problems are ready for work, and their solutions will support a new technology base
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