Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Gene-therapy Inspired Polycation Coating for Protection of DNA Origami Nanostructures
Published on: January 19, 2019
DNA protection against ultraviolet irradiation by encapsulation in a multilayered SiO2/TiO2 assembly
D Paunescu1, C A Mora, M Puddu
1Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland. robert.grass@chem.ethz.ch.
Abstract:
DNA is protected against UV-induced damage by encapsulation in a core-shell-shell particulate construct. The DNA is hermetically sealed in SiO2 particles coated with TiO2. The TiO2 coating acts as a physical sunscreen and prevents high energy photons from damaging the nucleic acids. DNA can be recovered unharmed from the protection system with fluoride comprising buffers, and then directly analyzed using biochemical standard techniques (quantitative PCR, gel electrophoresis and Sanger sequencing). The coatings increase the DNA UV resistance by 42 times, which is equivalent to the increase in UV resistance obtained by bacteria during sporulation. The attenuation coefficient of the 20 nm titania layer is 1.8 106 cm-1 at 254 nm UV irradiation and optical attenuation is largely attributed to light scattering on the titania surface.
Related Concept Videos
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
Single-Strand DNA Binding Proteins
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
Overview of DNA Repair
Chemically...

