DNA Cages Containing Oriented Guests

Portions of two connected networks are shown. The magenta network on the right is a 6-connected network, because each vertex is connected to six different networks, although only three of them are actually shown in the picture. The red network on the left is a 5-connected network, because each vertex is connected to five other vertices. This network contains octahedra and a truncated cube, whereas the network on the right contains only cubes. Each network is meant to represent an infinite network to be constructed from DNA. Each edge is designed to be formed from a double helical DNA molecule. The vertices correspond to the branch points of DNA branched junctions. Both networks contain kidney-shaped objects that are oriented in a parallel fashion within each network. These represent guest molecules whose structure is sought by crystallography. So long as the molecules are parallel within the crystal, it will be possible to determine their structures.

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