Positional photocleavage control of DNA-based nanoswitches.

DNA-based switches are currently operated by manual solution-phase addition of 'set-strands'. We demonstrate another operation method-sterically inaccessible 'set-strands', released from a surface into solution by spatially controlled photocleavage. This technique will enable microarrays of set-strands to operate many DNA-based switches in self-contained computational and diagnostic devices. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011