Accessing and Assessing the Cell-Surface Glycocalyx Using DNA Origami

[Image: see text] The cell-surface glycocalyx serves as a physiological barrier regulating cellular accessibility to macromolecules and other cells. Conventional glycocalyx characterization has largely been morphological rather than functional. Here, we demonstrated direct glycocalyx anchoring of DNA origami nanotiles and performed a comprehensive comparison with traditional origami targeting to the phospholipid bilayer (PLB) using cholesterol. While DNA nanotiles effectively accessed single-stranded DNA initiators anchored on the glycocalyx, their accessibility to the underlying PLB was only permitted by extended nanotile-to-initiator spacing or by enzymatic glycocalyx degradation using trypsin or pathogenic neuraminidase. Thus, the DNA nanotiles, being expelled by the physiologic glycocalyx, provide an effective functional measure of the glycocalyx barrier integrity and faithfully predict cell-to-cell accessibility during DNA-guided multicellular assembly. Lastly, the glycocalyx-anchoring mechanism enabled enhanced cell-surface stability and cellular uptake of nanotiles compared to PLB anchoring. This research lays the foundation for future development of DNA nanodevices to access the cell surface.