Cold denaturation of DNA origami nanostructures

The coupling of structural transitions to heat capacity changes leads to destabilization of macromolecules at both elevated and lowered temperatures. DNA origami not only exhibit this property but also provide a nanoscopic observable of cold denaturation processes by directing intramolecular strain to the most sensitive elements within their hierarchical architecture. Cold-induced site-specific structural damage of DNA origami at the nanoscale originates in heat capacity changes upon molecular scale transitions within the entire DNA suprastructure.