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Synthesis of Biocompatible Liquid Crystal Elastomer Foams as Cell Scaffolds for 3D Spatial Cell Cultures
Published on: April 11, 2017
Photochemical analysis of structural transitions in DNA liquid crystals reveals differences in spatial structure of
Katarzyna Brach1, Akiko Hatakeyama2, Claude Nogues2
1Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, 50370, Poland.
Abstract:
The anisotropic shape of DNA molecules allows them to form lyotropic liquid crystals (LCs) at high concentrations. This liquid crystalline arrangement is also found in vivo (e.g., in bacteriophage capsids, bacteria or human sperm nuclei). However, the role of DNA liquid crystalline organization in living organisms still remains an open question. Here we show that in vitro, the DNA spatial structure is significantly changed in mesophases compared to non-organized DNA molecules. DNA LCs were prepared from pBluescript SK (pBSK) plasmid DNA and investigated by photochemical analysis of structural transitions (PhAST). We reveal significant differences in the probability of UV-induced pyrimidine dimer photoproduct formation at multiple loci on the DNA indicative of changes in major groove architecture.
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