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Assembly of Gold Nanorods into Chiral Plasmonic Metamolecules Using DNA Origami Templates
Published on: March 5, 2019
G4-DNA-coated gold nanoparticles: synthesis and assembly
Irit Lubitz1, Alexander Kotlyar
1Department of Biochemistry, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel.
Bioconjugate Chemistry
|September 9, 2011
Summary
Stable gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were coated with G-quadruplex DNA (G4-DNA) and assembled into flower-shaped structures. This assembly demonstrated tunable plasmon coupling strength dependent on DNA length.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Biomaterials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) are widely used in diagnostics and therapeutics.
- G-quadruplex DNA (G4-DNA) offers unique structural and functional properties for nanomaterial functionalization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for creating stable, flower-shaped gold nanoparticle assemblies.
- To investigate the influence of G4-DNA coating and DNA length on nanoparticle assembly and plasmon coupling.
Main Methods:
- Preparation of 15 nm Au-NPs coated with parallel-stranded G4-DNA containing phosphorothioate residues.
- Assembly of G4-DNA coated Au-NPs with citrate-stabilized Au-NPs.
- Characterization using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- Stable, flower-shaped Au-NP structures were formed, with a central uncoated Au-NP surrounded by G4-DNA coated Au-NPs.
- The absorption band of the assembled structures showed a red-shift compared to individual Au-NPs.
- Plasmon coupling strength was found to be strongly dependent on the length of the DNA linker.
Conclusions:
- G4-DNA coated Au-NPs can be controllably assembled into complex nanostructures.
- The DNA length is a critical factor in tuning the plasmonic properties of Au-NP assemblies.
- This work provides a foundation for designing novel plasmonic nanomaterials with tunable optical properties.
