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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA

Published on: April 26, 2013

Long-range DNA-water interactions.

Abhishek K Singh¹, Chengyuan Wen¹, Shengfeng Cheng²

¹Department of Physics and Center for Soft Matter and Biological Physics, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Biophysical Journal

|October 23, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Investigating DNA hydration is challenging due to water

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Published on: April 26, 2013

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Visualization of Surface-tethered Large DNA Molecules with a Fluorescent Protein DNA Binding Peptide

Visualization of Surface-tethered Large DNA Molecules with a Fluorescent Protein DNA Binding Peptide

Published on: June 23, 2016

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Structural Biology
Physical Chemistry

Background:

DNA's functionality is intrinsically linked to its aqueous environment and hydration levels, influencing its conformation.
Water molecules and hydrated DNA exhibit dynamic behaviors, generating rotating and oscillating dipoles.
The strong absorption of water in the megahertz to terahertz (MHz-THz) range poses significant challenges in studying DNA hydration dynamics and water molecule spectral features.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the dynamics of water molecules within DNA hydration shells.
To explore the collective vibrational motions of hydrated DNA.
To understand the impact of hydration on DNA conformation and functionality.

Main Methods:

Utilized a high-precision megahertz to terahertz (MHz-THz) dielectric spectrometer.
Employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to complement experimental data.

Main Results:

Revealed heterogeneous dynamics of water molecules in DNA solutions, with four distinct relaxation times (approximately 8 ps to 1 ns).
Determined that DNA hydration shells extend up to approximately 18 Å from the DNA surface.
Identified low-frequency collective vibrational modes of hydrated DNA that are sensitive to temperature and hydration levels.

Conclusions:

The study provides critical insights into hydrated DNA dynamics and DNA-water interfaces.
These findings are vital for understanding DNA's biochemical functions and reactivity.