Effect of poly(L-lysine)-g-dextran copolymers on DNA hybridization

We have focused on design of biomaterials that are capable of engineering nucleic acids folding. In this study, we explored the effect of poly(L-lysine)-g-dextran, PLL-g-Dex, copolymer on hybridization kinetics of DNA. The hybridization kinetics was studied by using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay in the absence and presence of the copolymer. The copolymer at nano molar concentration significantly accelerated the hybridization rate over 200-fold under physiologically relevant ionic conditions.