Research

Research vision

Programmable materials inspired by biology

We develop materials that close the gap between synthetic polymers and living matter. Classical synthetic polymers are stable and versatile, but it is difficult to make them self-heal, self-regulate, and respond to their environment the way biological systems do. This becomes a problem when synthetic materials need to interact intelligently with biological systems.

Our approach is to make materials programmable: modular, predictable, and controllable through abstract design rules rather than laborious trial-and-error testing. To achieve this, we harness the unique self-assembly properties of DNA and use the principles of DNA nanotechnology to encode material behavior directly in the nucleotide sequence.

Comparison of DNA function in a biological cell and a DNA nanomaterial — Biological cells use DNA as an information carrier to encode proteins, which then carry out specific functions. In DNA-based nanomaterials, DNA molecules both encode and carry out specific functions, usually without an intermediary.

DNA-functionalized polymer platform and its applications in diagnostics, cell culture, and pathogen detection — DNA components act as exchangeable modules that introduce specific functions into a polymer network. Applications range from cell culture to nucleic-acid diagnostics. Read our perspective article and a recent book chapter.

Materials platform

DNA-functionalized polymers

We graft DNA oligonucleotides onto synthetic polymer backbones. The backbone provides tunable physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and mechanical stability, while non-covalently attached DNA modules make the material programmable. These modules can be plugged in, upgraded, and exchanged on demand.

Because DNA hybridization is highly predictable, we can control important macroscopic properties such as stiffness, plasticity, and melting behavior. We can also equip our materials with functional DNA-based elements, including aptamers for specific target binding, DNAzymes for catalytic activity, and tension probes for sensing mechanical forces. Our long-term goal is to create self-regulating materials that detect and respond to biomolecules, cells, and tissues, guided by increasingly sophisticated DNA-based logic circuits.

Cell culture

Dynamic matrices for cell and organoid culture

One major application of our materials is as fully synthetic, programmable 3D cell culture matrices that can guide and interrogate the development of cells and organoids. We introduced DyNAtrix, a DNA-crosslinked polymer matrix that offers independent, sequence-encoded control over stiffness, stress relaxation, and gelation kinetics, together with cell-adhesive peptide signals. It supports the long-term culture of various cell types, including iPSCs and organoids.

We use the DyNAtrix platform to systematically study how mechanical cues shape cell proliferation, differentiation, and morphogenesis, and to map mechanical cell–matrix interactions at the molecular level.

DyNAtrix DNA-crosslinked cell culture matrix with programmable mechanical properties — DyNAtrix is a DNA-crosslinked cell culture matrix with programmable mechanical properties (Peng et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2023). Read the article.

Fluorescence microscopy images showing podocalyxin and E-cadherin distributions in MDCK epithelial structures — The development of kidney cells can be guided by changing mechanical cell–matrix interactions through dynamic DNA nanotechnology (Hsiao et al. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025). Read the article.

Molecular diagnostics

Smart materials for isolating and detecting biomolecular targets

We develop DNA-based systems to capture, isolate, and detect specific molecular targets. Our LASSO method uses a DNA-functionalized polymer to capture specific DNA, RNA, or protein targets in solution. DNA-based crosslinkers then induce phase separation, allowing highly selective isolation of the captured targets under mild conditions. One major application of these programmable pulldown polymers is the preparation of DNA and RNA libraries for next-generation sequencing.

We are also working toward robust, reprogrammable platforms that simplify pathogen detection and enable diagnostics in resource-limited settings. This includes new DNA-based strand-displacement reactions and multiplexed detection on portable microfluidic chips for point-of-care pathogen testing.

LASSO programmable polymer capturing and isolating DNA, RNA, and protein targets — Programmable pulldown polymers such as LASSO can capture, isolate, and release biomolecular targets (Speed et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026). Read the article.

Y-Switch gene switch activated by a target RNA molecule to produce a fluorescent signal — The Y-Switch is a “spring-loaded” in vitro gene switch. Binding of a pathogen-specific RNA molecule activates it to produce fluorescent aptamers (Gupta et al. Nucl. Acids Res. 2024). Read the article.

Fundamental materials science

Topological soft matter

DNA nanotechnology also provides the opportunity to control the topology of supramolecular networks. Using combinatorial DNA libraries, we can engineer more efficient crosslinks and build exotic forms of soft matter, such as the elusive Olympic gel.

The material is held together by mechanically interlocked ring-shaped molecules. The absence of defined junction points results in unusual swelling behavior and unique mechanical characteristics. We explore the fundamental properties of topological soft materials as well as their potential applications.

Assembly of an Olympic gel from a combinatorial library of DNA plasmid rings — We produce Olympic gels from highly diverse DNA plasmid libraries (Speed, Peng, Atabay, Gupta et al. Adv. Mater. 2026). Read the article.

Methods

The lab combines chemistry, DNA nanotechnology, molecular biology, computation, and advanced characterization to connect molecular design with material behavior.