Self-assembly of responsive multilayered DNA nanocages

Here we report the assembly of multilayered DNA nanocages. The layers can be separated in response to a chemical cue, ATP. This is an effort to increase the structural complexity of DNA nanocages. The structures have been characterized by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy, and cryogenic electron microscopy. We envision that the layer-by-layer assembly strategy used in this study can be easily applied to other DNA nanocages to form Russian-doll-like semisolid structures, while the chemically activated layer separation makes a contribution to the development of "smart" DNA nanocages.