Abstract

Overview

Recent studies have highlighted potential concerns and effects of non-ionizing radiation, which is pervasive due to everyday devices like microwaves and wireless technology, on molecular structures such as DNA.

Findings

• Experiments with DNA nanostructures and plasmid DNA showed that microwaves can promote DNA repair and assembly, while intense terahertz (THz) pulses tend to disassemble them, particularly affecting short double-stranded DNA (dsDNA).
• These effects are temperature-independent and occur swiftly at room temperature.
• DNA's chemical integrity remains unaffected by such radiations, meanwhile not influencing the function of several types of proteins (enzymes and antibodies).
• The study also demonstrated the assembly of a fully-functional hybrid DNA-protein nanostructure using these radiations.

Conclusion

This research opens new possibilities for the application of non-ionizing radiation in DNA nanotechnology, with potential for developing new functional DNA-based materials, while raising important questions about the implications of everyday exposure to such radiations.