Segregation by complementarity of nanoDNA based on liquid crystal ordering and centrifugation

Nanometer length DNA segments ( <20 base pair long) that are complementary can duplex and condense to make liquid crystal phases at concentrations >∼500 mg/mL This nanoDNA duplexing combined with order-disorder phase separation offers a means of sequestering molecules in mixtures of different DNA sequences based on their degree of complementarity. Here we show that isotropic and liquid crystalline phases, comprising respectively single strands and duplexes in multi-component nanoDNA solutions, can be physically separated by liquid crystal condensation followed by centrifugation.