How DNA origami could help us target viruses and cancer | Jessica Kretzmann | TEDxKingsParkSalon
Jessica Kretzmann presents DNA origami as a promising nanotechnology-based medical tool, explaining how synthetic DNA sequences can be folded into precise 3D shapes to trap viruses and deliver therapeutic genetic messages to cells. She demonstrates two real experiments: a DNA shell that physically blocks viral infection, and an origami particle that successfully delivers a gene into cells. She envisions a future where DNA origami therapies can deliver personalized messages depending on which cell they enter.
Summary
Jessica Kretzmann opens with a provocative question: what if we could communicate with our own cells at their molecular level to rewrite diseases and reprogram cell behavior? She situates her work within nanotechnology — the study and engineering of matter at the scale of a billionth of a meter — and helps the audience appreciate the scale by noting that a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide, and that a 100-nanometer nanoparticle magnified 10 million times would only be the size of a Cheerio.
Kretzmann explains the biological foundation: cells read DNA like a computer reads binary code, producing proteins that enable cellular function. When DNA sequences are corrupted — even by a single letter — the result can be diseases such as various cancers, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and cystic fibrosis, with over 5,000 known diseases linked to single-letter genetic errors.
She then introduces DNA origami: a technique where synthetic DNA sequences are folded into precise two- or three-dimensional shapes. This is achieved by designing short DNA strands that bind to specific regions of a longer DNA strand, pulling it into a desired configuration through self-assembly — no microscope manipulation required. With hundreds of short strands, the technique can produce complex structures like molecular rotors, machines, and even DNA walkers.
Kretzmann describes two experiments she was personally involved in. In the first, her team created a shell made of ten DNA origami triangles that self-assembled like Lego bricks. This shell physically encased a virus, blocking it from interacting with and infecting cells — effectively halting the viral life cycle.
In the second experiment, the team asked whether a cell could unfold a DNA origami particle, read the encoded message, and act on it. They encoded the DNA blueprint for a green fluorescent protein into an origami particle and delivered it to cells. The cells successfully unfolded the particle, read the gene, and produced green-glowing proteins — confirming that DNA origami can carry and deliver functional biological instructions.
Kretzmann then addresses why this matters for treating complex diseases like cancer, emphasizing that cancer is not a single disease: even within one patient, cancer cells exist at different stages with different behaviors, some staying in tumors while others metastasize. A one-size-fits-all treatment approach is therefore limited.
She envisions a future where DNA origami particles carry multiple therapeutic messages and, like a paper fortune teller (cootie catcher), selectively unfold different messages depending on which type of cell they enter. One cell might trigger the unfolding of message one, while another cell triggers message two — creating a personalized, cell-responsive therapy. Kretzmann concludes by expressing her belief in the transformative potential of this technology to fundamentally change how diseases are treated and potentially cured.
Key Insights
- Kretzmann states that over 5,000 diseases — including various cancers, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and cystic fibrosis — are caused by a single incorrect letter in the DNA sequence, underscoring the molecular precision required for effective treatments.
- Kretzmann explains that DNA origami structures self-assemble in a test tube without manual manipulation — the entire design is pre-programmed into the sequence of short DNA strands, which then autonomously pull a longer DNA strand into the desired shape.
- Her team built a shell from ten DNA origami triangles that physically encased a virus and blocked it from interacting with and infecting cells, demonstrating a structural — rather than chemical — antiviral mechanism.
- Kretzmann's team successfully delivered a DNA origami particle encoding the gene for green fluorescent protein into cells, which then unfolded the particle, read the gene, and produced green-glowing proteins — proving that cells can extract and use functional messages from DNA origami.
- Kretzmann argues that cancer's complexity — with cells at different stages and with different behaviors even within a single patient — makes uniform treatment problematic, and she proposes that DNA origami could deliver different therapeutic messages to different cell types within the same patient.
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