DNA molecules site-specific immobilization and their applications

Rational Design of Porous Poly(ethylene glycol) Films as a Matrix for ssDNA Immobilization and Hybridization

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) films, fabricated by thermally induced crosslinking of amine- and epoxy-terminated four-arm STAR-PEG precursors, were used as porous and bioinert matrix for single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) immobilization and hybridization. The immobilization relied on the reaction between the amine groups in the films and N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) ester groups of the NHS-ester-decorated ssDNA. Whereas the amount of reactive amine groups in the films with the standard 1:1 composition of the precursors turned out to be too low for efficient immobilization, it could be increased noticeably using an excess (2:1) concentration of the amine-terminated precursor. The respective films retained the bioinertness of the 1:1 prototype and could be successfully decorated with probe ssDNA, resulting in porous, 3D PEG-ssDNA sensing assemblies. These assemblies exhibited high selectivity with respect to the target ssDNA strands, with a hybridization efficiency of 78–89% for the matching sequences and full inertness for non-complementary strands. The respective strategy can be applied to the fabrication of DNA microarrays and DNA sensors. As a suitable transduction technique, requiring no ssDNA labeling and showing high sensitivity in the PEG-ssDNA case, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is suggested.

Deposition of DNA Nanostructures on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

We report the deposition of DNA origami nanostructures on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The DNA origami goes through a structural rearrangement and the DNA base is exposed to interact with the graphite surface. Exposure to ambient air, which is known to result in a hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic wetting transition of HOPG, does not significantly impact the deposition yield or the shape deformation of DNA nanostructures. The deposited DNA nanostructures maintain their morphology for at least a week and promote site-selective chemical vapor deposition of SiO₂. This process is potentially useful for a range of applications that include but are not limited to nanostructure fabrication, sensing, and electronic and surface engineering.