TY - DATA T1 - Dataset underlying publication: De novo DNA-based catch bonds PY - 2024/04/30 AU - Martijn van Galen AU - Annemarie Bok AU - Taieesa Peshkovsky AU - Jasper van der Gucht AU - Bauke Albada AU - Joris Sprakel UR - DO - 10.4121/96e43d14-80a6-46e2-819c-9c627cedf10e.v2 KW - Catch bonds KW - Mechanochemistry KW - DNA nanotechnology KW - Rolling adhesion KW - Supramolecular adhesion N2 -

All primary chemical interactions weaken under mechanical stress, which imposes fundamental mechanical limits on the materials constructed from them. Biological materials combine plasticity with strength, for which nature has evolved a unique solution: catch bonds, supramolecular interactions that strengthen under tension. Biological catch bonds use force-gated conformational switches to convert weak bonds into strong ones. To date, catch bonds remain exclusive to nature, leaving their potential as mechano-adaptive elements in synthetic systems untapped. Here, we report the design and realization of artificial catch bonds. Starting from a minimal set of thermodynamic design requirements, we created a molecular motif capable of catch bonding. It consists of a DNA duplex featuring a cryptic domain that unfolds under tension to strengthen the interaction. We show that these catch bonds recreate force-enhanced rolling adhesion, a hallmark feature of biological catch bonds in bacteria and leukocytes. This work introduces catch bonds into the synthetic domain.

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