A high-endurance DNA origami snap-through switch for functional nanoscale control.

Abstract

Switchable elements are central to both technological devices and biological machines because they enable controlled and reversible transitions between distinct functional states. Here, we present a DNA origami-based, mechanically bistable snap-through mechanism that can be electrically controlled. This nanoscale switching mechanism exhibits long-term stability in both states in the absence of external stimuli while achieving millisecond-scale switching times upon application of an electric field. Individual devices sustain hundreds of thousands of switching cycles over several hours and remain functional for actuation over several days, offering a powerful platform for systematically studying the endurance and failure mechanisms of biomolecular nanoswitches. As a nanoscale electromechanical interface, our device enables applications in molecular information processing, optical nanodevices, and the dynamic control of chemical reactions. We demonstrate that functionalization with gold nanorods facilitates polarization-dependent optical modulation, establishing direct application in plasmonics. We further show that controlling the accessibility of a molecular binding site allows electrical regulation of reaction kinetics, thereby directly coupling mechanical switching to biochemical function.