The pursuit of controlling biological processes and interactions lies at the heart of biomolecular engineering. DNA-lipid conjugates are versatile tools in this regard. These amphiphilic molecules embody two different self-assembling units – (1) nucleic acid moiety, which is capable of sequence-guided precise and programmable self-assembly, (2) lipid moiety, which allows insertion into a hydrophobic structure. Even though DNA-lipid conjugates do not occur naturally, they are used as convenient proxies for complex macromolecular interactions in living cells. DNA-lipid conjugates have found applications in cell membrane engineering, synthetic receptors, synthetic membrane architectures, biophysical model systems, biosensors, and therapeutic agents.

The primary goal of this methods collection is to expand the scope of DNA-lipid conjugates as robust molecular tools. A large number of potential users of DNA-lipid conjugates may be non-chemists or scientists with limited access to synthetic chemistry resources. Therefore, visual demonstrations of simplified procedures for synthesis and purification of these molecules using various conjugation and linker chemistries will be extremely desirable. DNA-lipid conjugates are widely used to impart programmability to self-assembled systems such as supported bilayers, liposomes, and nanoparticles. Video articles elaborating well-established model experiments in these areas will ensure reproducibility and enable novel applications. A few other focus areas in this collection will be – the physical characterization of the self-assembled aggregates formed by DNA-lipid conjugates, viral fusion models, cell-based applications, and bottom-up synthetic biology.