Bhussry Seminar Series: “Engineered Multiscale DNA-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications”

Presentation: “Engineered Multiscale DNA-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications”

Speaker:
Remi Veneziano, PhD
Associate  Professor, Dept of Bioengineering
George Mason University, College of Engineering and Computing

Presented in-person in Basic Science Building 341 and via Zoom.

About This Seminar:
Owing to their inherent biocompatibility and unique biochemical and structural properties, nucleic acid molecules have emerged as materials of choice for biomaterials engineering. Unlike other types of polymers, nucleic acid molecules can be precisely assembled into complex nano- and micro-architectures with high structural fidelity and tailorable properties. In addition, nucleic acid-based structures enable patterning of inorganic and organic molecules with nanoscale precision to create functional biomaterials. While these new biomaterials represent a promising alternative to traditional biomaterials, the complexity of their design and the costs associated with their synthesis have limited their broad use and their full potential has not yet been exploited.

In this talk, I will present the work we have done toward developing DNA nanotechnology tools for biomedical applications using two research examples that illustrate the robustness and scalability of our technologies and highlight the advantages of using nucleic acid-based structures for biomedical applications. I will start by presenting a nanoscale platform tool developed to assess the role of nanoscale organization of antigen for rational vaccine design. Then, I will explain how we leveraged hierarchical assembly of DNA motifs to assemble millimeter to centimeter-scale pure DNA hydrogel with tunable physical properties for 3D bioprinting.

Sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology