Modified nucleic acid nanoarrays and uses therefor

1. A finite, addressable, and self-assembling nucleic acid tiling array of predetermined size comprising:

(a) one or more nucleic acid tiles, wherein each nucleic acid tile in the nucleic acid tiling array comprises a plurality of nucleic acid probes capable of binding to a target, wherein the nucleic acid probes are attached at predetermined locations on the nucleic acid tile;

(b) an indexing feature; wherein the nucleic acid tiling array is of a predetermined size;

(c) a nucleic acid thread strand;

(d) a plurality of helper nucleic acid strands that are complementary to the nucleic acid thread strand; wherein a plurality of the helper nucleic acid strands further comprises a nucleic acid probe; and wherein the nucleic acid thread strand is folded into a desired shape by hybridization to the helper strands; wherein the nucleic acid thread strand is not complementary to any of the nucleic acid probes, and wherein the predetermined size of the array is determined by the length and shape of the nucleic acid thread strand; and

(e) nucleic acid filler strands that hybridize to the nucleic acid thread strand, wherein the nucleic acid filler strands are not involved in shaping the nucleic acid thread strand, but add further structural integrity to the resulting nucleic acid tile;

wherein the nucleic acid tiling array comprises one or more of the following:

(i) an addressable nucleic acid probe and one or more unique chemical tags;

(ii) one or more nucleic acid probes on the nucleic acid tiling array modified to permit specific bonding and/or cross-linking of captured targets to the nucleic acid probes; and

(iii) addressable nucleic acid probes, wherein one or more of the nucleic acid probes comprises 2′-5′ DNA.

2. The finite, addressable and self-assembling nucleic acid array of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid probes comprise pairs of single stranded nucleic acids arranged to permit a pair of single stranded nucleic acids to both hybridize to the same target.

3. The finite, addressable and self-assembling nucleic acid array of claim 2 , wherein the pair of single stranded nucleic acids are arranged to permit formation of a continuous double helix after hybridization to the target.

4. The nucleic acid tiling array of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the nucleic acid filler strands further comprises a nucleic acid probe.

5. The nucleic acid tiling array of claim 1 wherein each of the nucleic acid probes is unique.

6. The nucleic acid tiling array of claim 1 , wherein the target is selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates, other organic molecules, inorganic molecules and metallic particles, magnets, and quantum dots.

7. The nucleic acid tiling array of claim 6 , further comprising bound ligand.

8. The nucleic acid tiling array of claim 7 , wherein the bound ligand is selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates, other organic molecules, inorganic molecules and metallic particles, magnets, and quantum dots.

9. The finite, addressable and self-assembling nucleic acid array of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid tiling array comprises the addressable nucleic acid probe and one or more unique chemical tags.

10. The finite, addressable and self-assembling nucleic acid array of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid tiling array comprises the one or more nucleic acid probes on the nucleic acid tiling array modified to permit specific bonding and/or cross-linking of captured targets to the nucleic acid probes.

11. The finite, addressable and self-assembling nucleic acid array of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid tiling array comprises the addressable nucleic acid probes, wherein one or more of the nucleic acid probes comprises 2′-5′ DNA.