DNA Nanoparticles for Improved Protein Synthesis In Vitro

The amplification and digital quantification of single DNA molecules are important in biomedicine and diagnostics. Beyond quantifying DNA molecules in a sample, the ability to express proteins from the amplified DNA would open even broader applications in synthetic biology, directed evolution, and proteomics. Herein, a microfluidic approach is reported for the production of condensed DNA nanoparticles that can serve as efficient templates for in vitro protein synthesis. Using phi29 DNA polymerase and a multiple displacement amplification reaction, single DNA molecules were converted into DNA nanoparticles containing up to about 10(4) clonal gene copies of the starting template. DNA nanoparticle formation was triggered by accumulation of inorganic pyrophosphate (produced during DNA synthesis) and magnesium ions from the buffer. Transcription–translation reactions performed in vitro showed that individual DNA nanoparticles can serve as efficient templates for protein synthesis in vitro.