Measuring the Conformation and Persistence Length of Single-Stranded DNA Using a DNA Origami Structure.

Measuring the mechanical properties of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is a challenge that has been addressed by different methods lately. The short persistence length, fragile structure, and the appearance of stem loops complicate the measurement, and this leads to a large variability in the measured values. Here we describe an innovative method based on DNA origami for studying the biophysical properties of ssDNA.