Assembly directed by DNA origami. Nanoparticle assembly mediated by DNA is inspired by the remarkable programmability of DNA molecules. The formation of nanostructures by DNA molecules itself is a vast field of research in itself. The use of DNA molecules for nanoscale patterning was foreseen by Seeman back in 1982 when he presented the criteria for the formation of nucleic acid junctions by the maximization of Watson-Crick base pairing and the lack of sequence symmetry customarily found in living systems. These junctions can be treated as the building blocks covalently linked together by linear DNA to form complex structures that can be templates for the organization of metal nanoparticles. At the molecular level, the DNA-nanoparticle interaction occurs through functional groups that strongly interacts with the nanoparticles through ligand-receptor binding, physical grafting or covalent attachment. For example, it was shown by Mirkin et al. that the interaction of Au nanoparticles with DNA takes place through imine groups, as the electrons of the imine group are more available as compared to those from the amino group due to the delocalization of the electrons in the aromatic ring. Then, by the use of thiolated oligonucleotides, Au nanoparticles are bound by a thiol-Au bond . DNA directed self-assembly of nanoparticles into various sophisticated structures like oligomers , helix , honeycomb , nanoparticle polymer , etc., has already been reported. Also, a number of reviews has covered these works that gained significant attention from the scientific community. Recently, Liu et al. showed a 2D supramolecular assembly of gold nanorods guided by DNA triangles and hexamers, Figure (a) First, truncatedtriangular DNA origami with edges of 80 nm and a thickness of 2.5 nm are obtained by self-assembly. Then, arbitrary edges of the DNA triangle can be stitched together through base pairings with a set of sequence-encoded DNA connectors to form hexamers. The assembly of the nanorods at deterministic locations on the origami then occurs through DNA base-pairing interactions. Another interesting work towards nanomotor applications is on the assembly of Au nanoparticles on DNA origami rings as shown in Figure (b). The planetary nano-gearsets are formed by connecting two DNA origami rings and cross-linking two Au nanoparticles in between. Kim et al. demonstrated that photopatterning of DNAdirected Au nanorod self-assembled films is possible by the photothermal effect when illuminated by a laser . As the illuminated spots heat up due to the photothermal effect, the disentanglement of the nanoparticles from the DNA linkage is possible by the application of a laser of sufficient intensity and suitable wavelength, Figure (c). DNA-directed large scale self-assembly also facilitates high structural control and porosity for catalytic applications. While DNA facilitates the formation of sophisticated structures, the DNA itself does not have remarkable electrical, optical or thermal properties. Another important challenge of DNA directed self-assembly in commercial applications is the high price of DNA-based materials. Still, for certain niche applications, DNA-directed assembly can still be promising in view of the state-of-the-art. Reprinted with permission © 2021, American Chemical Society. (b) Nano-gearsets by the selfassembly of two Au nanoparticles by cross-linking in between two concentric DNA origami nanorings. © 2022 CC-BY 4.0 (c) Photothermal nano-pattering of Au nanoparticle films obtained by DNA assembly. Photothermal heating of the illuminated spots facilitates unlinking of the nanoparticles. Reprinted with permission © 2022 John Wiley & Sons.