Using DNA Self-assembly Design Strategies to Motivate Graph Theory Concepts
A number of exciting new laboratory techniques have been developed using the Watson-Crick complementarity properties of DNA strands to achieve the self-assembly of graphical complexes. For all of these methods, an essential step in building the self-assembling nanostructure is designing the component molecular building blocks. These design strategy problems fall naturally into the realm of graph theory. We describe graph theoretical formalism for various construction methods, and then suggest several...