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A novel type of microscopic size chip based on double-stranded nucleic acids
Y M Yevdokimov1, V I Salyanov, M A Zakharov
1Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova str. 32, 117984 Moscow, Russia. yevdokim@genome.eimb.relarn.ru
Lab on a Chip
|April 22, 2004
Summary
Researchers created novel 3D nucleic acid (NA) molecular constructions using liquid crystals. These stable NA structures can be utilized as versatile microscopic chemical units for various applications.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Materials Science
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Nucleic acids (NA) can self-assemble into ordered structures.
- Cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersions provide a matrix for molecular organization.
- Polymeric chelate bridges offer a method for stabilizing molecular assemblies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To utilize nucleic acids as building blocks for molecular design.
- To create stable, three-dimensional molecular constructions using nucleic acids.
- To explore the potential of these constructions as functional chemical units.
Main Methods:
- Fixing double-stranded nucleic acids (NA) into cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersions.
- Forming polymeric chelate bridges between NA molecules, incorporating anthracycline and copper ions.
- Immobilizing the resulting three-dimensional NA molecular constructions onto supporting films.
- Analyzing the structures using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- Successfully created stable, three-dimensional molecular constructions with alternating NA, anthracycline, and copper ions.
- Observed stabilization of the spatial ordering of NA molecules within the constructions.
- Demonstrated that CD spectra showed an 'extra-increase' in band amplitude.
- Showed that polymeric chelate bridges could be destroyed by biologically relevant compounds, leading to disintegration.
Conclusions:
- Developed a method for creating stable, three-dimensional nucleic acid molecular constructions.
- These NA constructions exhibit unique spectral properties and can be disassembled.
- The constructed molecular units show potential as multifunctional microscopic chemical tools for biological and chemical applications.