Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026
Visualizing the Interaction Between the Qdot-labeled Protein and Site-specifically Modified λ DNA at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: July 17, 2018
Influence of the nature of quantum dot surface cations on interactions with DNA
Rahina Mahtab1, Sheldon M Sealey, Simona E Hunyadi
1Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC 29117, USA. rmahtab@scsu.edu
Abstract:
Quantum dots are semiconductor nanoparticles that are approximately 1-10nm in diameter, similar to small proteins, and their photoluminescence is sensitive to the presence and nature of adsorbates. We have deployed these nanomaterials as luminescent probes of DNA structure. Sequence dependent conformational flexibility of DNA is of great interest due to its implications for drug-DNA and DNA-protein interactions. The counterion atmosphere surrounding DNA plays an important role in its structure, dynamics, and packaging. In this paper, we investigate the effect that various monovalent and divalent cations have on the binding of 4.5 nm CdS quantum dots to oligonucleotides that have sequence-directed intrinsic structure.
