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Published on: September 21, 2017
Enantioselective recognition between polydiacetylene nucleolipid monolayers and complementary oligonucleotides
Ina Sigal-Batikoff1, Oleg Konovalov, Amarjeet Singh
1Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|October 14, 2010
Summary
This study presents a novel bio/synthetic hybrid system using polymerized polydiacetylene films with nucleobases. These chiral surfaces demonstrate enantioselective binding, potentially shedding light on the origin of life.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Origin of Life Studies
Background:
- Development of bio/synthetic hybrid systems for molecular recognition.
- Utilizing Langmuir films and polydiacetylene (PDA) for structured interfaces.
- Investigating chirality in synthetic systems for biological applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create and characterize a 2D bio/synthetic hybrid system with nucleobase-modified polydiacetylene films.
- To investigate the enantioselective binding capabilities of these chiral surfaces.
- To explore the implications for understanding the origin of homochirality.
Main Methods:
- Formation of mixed polydiacetylene (PDC) and lipid (PDOH) Langmuir monolayers at the air-water interface.
- Polymerization of monolayers using circular polarized UV light (CPL) or nonpolarized UV light.
- Characterization using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) and hybridization with ssDNA.
Main Results:
- Polymerized PDC films exhibit a crystalline array of nucleobases capable of specific binding.
- Left- and right-CPL polymerized films show distinct enantioselective binding of guanosine and ssDNA.
- Surface-induced asymmetry leads to chiral structures capable of amplifying binding of specific handedness.
Conclusions:
- The bio/synthetic hybrid system demonstrates controllable chirality and enantioselective molecular recognition.
- This work provides a model for understanding chiral selection mechanisms in early life.
- Achiral precursors can form chiral surface structures with amplified binding properties through CPL polymerization.

