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ZMB Member Barbara Saccà

ZMB Member
Barbara Saccà

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portrait photo of ZMB member Barbara Saccà
© UDE/B.Saccà

Prof. Dr. Barbara Saccà

Group

Bionanotechnology

Center of Medical Biotechnology (ZMB)
Faculty of Biology
University of Duisburg-Essen
Universitätsstr. 2
45141 Essen

Research Overview

We use DNA nanotechnology to construct simplified models of complex biological systems, where single structural and functional parameters can be manipulated in a predictable fashion. Our scientific ambition is to gain a better understanding of three fundamental aspects of natural self-assembling systems: hierarchical order, spatial confinement, and dynamic response.

Figure: DNA Nanotechnology - from molecules to self-organized nanostructures
© B.Saccà
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Press Releases

© UDE/Prof. Dr Barbara Saccà - UDE/Bettina Engel-Albustin
Schmuckicon
uni-due.de | Presse release

UDE researchers use DNA origami method New ways for artificial nanofactories

[29.07.2024] Artificial nanofactories are tiny workshops made from the human body's own molecules that are precisely designed and constructed according to a blueprint. In the future, they could help to better recognise disease markers or environmental toxins, for example, or serve as highly specific catalysts for energy conversion and storage. Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have developed a model that regulates the unfolding and degradation of proteins using compartmentalisation strategies – which could open up new ways of developing artificial nanofactories. Their results have now been published in Nature Nanotechnology.

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Selected Publications

    Journal articles

  • Huang, Jing; Jaekel, Andreas; van den Boom, Johannes; Podlesainski, David; Elnaggar, M.; Heuer-Jungemann, A.; Kaiser, Markus; Meyer, Hemmo; Saccà, Barbara.
    A modular DNA origami nanocompartment for engineering a cell-free, protein unfolding and degradation pathway
    In: Nature Nanotechnology Vol. 19 (2024) Nr. 10, pp. 1521 - 1531
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/ (Open Access)
  • Winat, Lena; Sacca, Barbara.
    The primordial life of DNA dynamic networks
    In: Nature Catalysis Vol. 3 (2020) Nr. 11, pp. 865 - 866
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Kosinski, Richard; Mukhortava, Ann; Pfeifer, Wolfgang; Candelli, Andrea; Rauch, Philipp; Sacca, Barbara.
    Sites of high local frustration in DNA origami
    In: Nature Communications Vol. 10 (2019) Nr. 1, pp. 1061
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/ (Open Access)
  • Pfeifer, Wolfgang; Lill, Pascal; Gatsogiannis, Christos; Sacca, Barbara.
    Hierarchical Assembly of DNA Filaments with Designer Elastic Properties
    In: ACS Nano Vol. 12 (2018) Nr. 1, pp. 44 - 55
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sprengel, Andreas; Lill, Pascal; Stegemann, Pierre; Bravo-Rodriguez, Kenny; Schöneweiß, Elisa-Charlott; Merdanovic, Melisa; Gudnason, Daniel; Aznauryan, Mikayel; Gamrad, Lisa; Barcikowski, Stephan; Sánchez-García, Elsa; Birkedal, Victoria; Gatsogiannis, Ch et al.
    Tailored protein encapsulation into a DNA host using geometrically organized supramolecular interactions
    In: Nature Communications Vol. 8 (2017) pp. 14472
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/ Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Streich, Carmen; Akkari, Laura; Decker, Christina; Bormann, Jenny; Rehbock, Christoph; Müller-Schiffmann, Andreas; Niemeyer, Felix; Nagel-Steger, Luitgard; Willbold, Dieter; Sacca, Barbara; Kor, Carsten.
    Characterizing the Effect of Multivalent Conjugates Composed of Aβ-Specific Ligands and Metal Nanoparticles on Neurotoxic Fibrillar Aggregation
    In: ACS Nano (2016) pp. 7582 - 7597
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Poepsel, Simon; Sprengel, Andreas; Sacca, Barbara; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; Gatsogiannis, Christos; Raunser, Stefan; Clausen, Tim; Ehrmann, Michael.
    Determinants of amyloid fibril degradation by the PDZ protease HTRA1
    In: Nature Chemical Biology Vol. 11 (2015) Nr. 11, pp. 862 - 869
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/ Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Sacca, Barbara; Ishitsuka, Yuji; Meyer, Rebecca; Sprengel, Andreas; Schöneweiß, Elisa-Charlott; Nienhaus, G. Ulrich; Niemeyer, Christof M.
    Reversible reconfiguration of DNA origami nanochambers monitored by single-molecule FRET
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 54 (2015) Nr. 12, pp. 3592 - 3597
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Meyer, Rebecca; Sacca, Barbara; Niemeyer, Christof M.
    Site-Directed, on-surface assembly of DNA nanostructures
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 54 (2015) Nr. 41, pp. 12039 - 12043
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sacca, Barbara; Niemeyer, Christof M.
    DNA Origami : The Art of Folding DNA
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 51 (2012) Nr. 1, pp. 58 - 66
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sacca, Barbara; Niemeyer, Christof M.
    Functionalization of DNA nanostructures with proteins
    In: Chemical Society Reviews Vol. 40 (2011) Nr. 12, pp. 5910 - 5921
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sacca, Barbara; Niemeyer, Christof M.; Rabe, Kersten; Schroeder, Hendrik; Arndt, Andreas; Kiko, Kathrin; Erkelenz, Michael; Meyer, Rebecca.
    Orthogonal Protein Decoration of DNA Origami
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 49 (2010) Nr. 49, pp. 9378 - 9383
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Feldkamp, Udo; Niemeyer, Christof M.; Sacca, Barbara.
    Dendritic DNA Building Blocks for Amplified Detection Assays and Biomaterials
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 48 (2009) Nr. 33, pp. 5996 - 6000
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sacca, Barbara; Niemeyer, Christof M.; Schroeder, Hendrik; Feldkamp, Udo; Meyer, Rebecca.
    High-Throughput, Real-Time Monitoring of the Self-Assembly of DNA Nanostructures by FRET Spectroscopy
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 47 (2008) Nr. 11, pp. 2135 - 2137
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Mergny, Jean-Louis; De Cian, Anne; Ghelab, Amar; Sacca, Barbara; Lacroix, Laurent.
    Kinetics of tetramolecular quadruplexes
    In: Nucleic Acids Research Vol. 33 (2005) Nr. 1, pp. 81 - 94
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Amrane, Samir; Sacca, Barbara; Mills, Martin; Chauhan, Madhu; Klump, Horst H.; Mergny, Jean-Louis.
    Length-dependent energetics of (CTG)n and (CAG)n trinucleotide repeats
    In: Nucleic Acids Research Vol. 33 (2005) Nr. 13, pp. 4065 - 4077
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
  • Sacca, Barbara; Lacroix, Laurent; Mergny, Jean-Louis.
    The effect of chemical modifications on the thermal stability of different G-quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides
    In: Nucleic Acids Research Vol. 33 (2005) Nr. 4, pp. 1182 - 1192
    Online Full Text: dx.doi.org/
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