Using DNA Origami to Evaluate Motor Protein Binding Patterns [Honors Thesis]

Cargo is transported around the cell on a complex interconnected matrix of filamentous polymers called microtubules. While studies have been performed on the antagonistic and cooperative behaviors of motor proteins in intracellular transport, it is still unclear how and where motor proteins bind to their cargo. Using DNA origami, a potentially powerful tool for use in transport assays due to the robust and programmable nature of DNA, my project was to create a ~20 nm tetrahedral nanocage to serve as an artificial cargo kinesin-1 intracellular transport. This model system would then be evaluated using single molecule imaging techniques.