Fluorescence enhancement effect of morin-nucleic acid-L-cysteine-capped nano-ZnS system and the determination of nucleic acid

Dual-band fluorescence detection of double-stranded DNA with QDs-Mn2+-pefloxacin

By integrating the fluorescence of quantum dots (QDs) and Mn²⁺-pefloxacin mesylate (Mn²⁺-pefloxacin), a new type of dual-band fluorescence biosensor for high-efficiency and sensitive determination of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is developed. The biosensor is based on the fluorescence "OFF-ON" mode of both QDs and QDs-Mn²⁺-pefloxacin. The Mn²⁺-pefloxacin complex can quench the QDs fluorescence via photoinduced electron transfer (PET), and its fluorescence is also quenched. Due to the specificity and strong binding affinity of dsDNA for the Mn²⁺-pefloxacin complex, it can break the low fluorescent QDs-Mn²⁺-pefloxacin and restore the fluorescence of QDs and Mn²⁺-pefloxacin complex in their respective bands. Therefore, the dual-band fluorescence quantitative detection of dsDNA by QDs-Mn²⁺-pefloxacin can be achieved, while bovine serum albumin, single-stranded DNA, and bio-related ions do not yield similar results. Furthermore, the possible reaction mechanisms are systematically discussed. The detection limits (3δ/K) of herring sperm (hs) DNA in the fluorescence recovery bands of QDs and Mn²⁺-pefloxacin complex are 0.0142 and 0.0465 μg/mL, respectively. The developed biosensor was used for dsDNA detection in synthetic samples, and desirable results are obtained.

Fluorescent reversible regulation of cysteamine-capped ZnSe quantum dots successively induced by photoinduced electron transfer of herring sperm DNA and intercalation binding of ethidium bromide

A fluorescent reversible regulation was studied by fluorescence spectra, ultraviolet-visible spectra in the combination of molecular docking, which based on the photoinduced electron transfer(PET) from hsDNA (herring sperm DNA) to CA (cysteamine)-capped ZnSe QDs (quantum dots) and intercalation of ethidium bromide (EB) into hsDNA. It was proven that the QDs bound with the adding hsDNA by electrostatic force and formed 1:1 hsDNA-QDs complexes, leading to the PET from hsDNA to QDs, and consequently the fluorescence quenching of the QDs; with EB being added in the complex solution, it bound with hsDNA by intercalation interaction and caused hsDNA releasing from hsDNA-QDs complex with forming 2.5:1 EB-hsDNA complex, leading to the recovery of fluorescence, based on the greater binding constant (1.74 × 106 L·mol-1) of hsDNA with the embedded EB comparing to that of QDs with the captured hsDNA (4.25 × 104 L·mol-1). A good linear relationship existed between the fluorescence recovery yield and the EB concentrations under the range of 1.0-12.0 × 10-6 mol·L-1 with bare interference of related substances. This work provided some useful insights into the study of binding mechanism between DNAs with their intercalators and fluorescence bi-direction regulation, and showed great potential for the determination of trace EB.

Detection of DNA using an “off-on” switch of a regenerating biosensor based on an electron transfer mechanism from glutathione-capped CdTe quantum dots to nile blue

A new DNA detection method, which relies on the “off-on” switch of a regenerated fluorescence biosensor based on an electron transfer mechanism from glutathione (GSH)-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) to nile blue (NB), is proposed.

On the origin of life in the zinc world: 1. Photosynthesizing, porous edifices built of hydrothermally precipitated zinc sulfide as cradles of life on Earth

BACKGROUND

The complexity of the problem of the origin of life has spawned a large number of possible evolutionary scenarios. Their number, however, can be dramatically reduced by the simultaneous consideration of various bioenergetic, physical, and geological constraints.

RESULTS

This work puts forward an evolutionary scenario that satisfies the known constraints by proposing that life on Earth emerged, powered by UV-rich solar radiation, at photosynthetically active porous edifices made of precipitated zinc sulfide (ZnS) similar to those found around modern deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Under the high pressure of the primeval, carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere ZnS could precipitate at the surface of the first continents, within reach of solar light. It is suggested that the ZnS surfaces (1) used the solar radiation to drive carbon dioxide reduction, yielding the building blocks for the first biopolymers, (2) served as templates for the synthesis of longer biopolymers from simpler building blocks, and (3) prevented the first biopolymers from photo-dissociation, by absorbing from them the excess radiation. In addition, the UV light may have favoured the selective enrichment of photostable, RNA-like polymers. Falsification tests of this hypothesis are described in the accompanying article (A.Y. Mulkidjanian, M.Y. Galperin, Biology Direct 2009, 4:27).

CONCLUSION

The suggested "Zn world" scenario identifies the geological conditions under which photosynthesizing ZnS edifices of hydrothermal origin could emerge and persist on primordial Earth, includes a mechanism of the transient storage and utilization of solar light for the production of diverse organic compounds, and identifies the driving forces and selective factors that could have promoted the transition from the first simple, photostable polymers to more complex living organisms.