Nucleic acid and other compositions and methods for the modulation of cell membranes

A method of scrambling lipids or other molecules in a first and second leaflet of a biological membrane, the method comprising:

• (a) contacting the biological membrane with a composition comprising one or more hydrophilic regions forming a nanostructure and one or more hydrophobic or amphiphilic molecules attached to the one or more hydrophilic regions, wherein the composition comprises one or more nucleic acids which form the nanostructure comprising at least one interconnected nucleic acid duplex, and wherein said one or more hydrophobic or amphiphilic molecules are able to insert the nanostructure into the biological membrane;
• and
• (b) inserting the nanostructure into the biological membrane and forming a toroidal pore in the biological membrane surrounding the nanostructure, where the hydrophilic surfaces of the first and second leaflets are fused together to form a continuous structure,
• wherein lipids, other molecules, or both, in the first leaflet are transported to the second leaflet at a rate greater than a transport rate of a control biological membrane which was not contacted with the composition.

A method of altering a biological state of a cell having a lipid membrane with a first leaflet and a second leaflet, the method comprising:

• (a) contacting the lipid membrane of the cell with a composition comprising one or more hydrophilic regions forming a nanostructure and one or more hydrophobic or amphiphilic molecules attached to the one or more hydrophilic regions, wherein said one or more hydrophobic or amphiphilic molecules are able to insert the nanostructure into the lipid membrane;
• and
• (b) inserting the nanostructure into the lipid membrane and forming a toroidal pore in the lipid membrane surrounding the nanostructure, where the hydrophilic surfaces of the first and second leaflets are fused together to form a continuous structure,
• wherein the composition further comprises an activation mechanism able to cause a conformal change in the composition structure when exposed to stimuli, wherein said conformal change activates the nanostructure to be inserted into the lipid membrane and to form the toroidal pore, and the activating mechanism comprises an azobenzene molecule attached to the composition and the stimuli comprises ultraviolet light,
• wherein selected lipids, other molecules, or both, in the first leaflet are transported to the second leaflet at a rate greater than a transport rate of a control lipid membrane which was not contacted with the composition, and
• wherein the increased rate of transportation alters the amount of the selected lipids, other molecules, or both, in the first and second leaflets, thereby altering the biological state of the cell.