Molecular dynamics study on enhancing the structural and mechanical properties of biomimetic DNA and RNA nanotubes using polyamines

Abstract

Artificially synthesized nucleic acid nanotubes have piqued the interest of researchers because of their potential applications in nanotechnology. However, the low stability and mechanical characteristics of these nanostructures still limit several possible applications. This study describes how coating DNA nanotubes (DNTs) and RNA nanotubes (RNTs) with polyamine molecules improves their structural and mechanical properties. Through computational studies, including quantum calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we examined the dynamic behavior of DNT and RNT in the presence of polyamines. Our MD analyses revealed notable improvements in the structural stability and mechanical properties of DNT and RNT when polyamines were absorbed.