NanoFrame: A web-based DNA wireframe design tool for 3D structures

Abstract

The rapid development of the DNA nanotechnology field has been facilitated by advances in CAD software. However, as more complex concepts arose, the lag between the needs and software capabilities appeared. Further derailed by manual installation and software incompatibility across different platforms and often tedious library management issues, the software has become hard-to-use for many. Here we present NanoFrame, a web-based DNA wireframe design tool for making 3D nanostructures from a single scaffold. Within this software, we devised algorithms for DNA routing, staple breaking, and wireframe cage opening which, while modeled for cuboid structure, can be generalized to a variety of platonic and Archimedean shapes. In addition, NanoFrame provides a platform for editing auto-generated staple sequences and saving work online.