A novel class of polymeric fluorescent dyes assembled using a DNA synthesizer

PLoS One. 2020 Dec 4;15(12):e0243218. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243218. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

In the pursuit of a novel class of fluorescent dyes we have developed a programmable polymer system that enables the rational design and control of macromolecular constructs through simple control of polymer primary sequence. These polymers are assembled using standard phosphoramidite chemistry on a DNA synthesizer which allows for extremely rapid prototyping and enables many permutations due to the large selection of phosphoramidite monomers presently available on the market. This programmability to some extent allows us to control the interactions/spacing of payload molecules distributed along the designed polymeric backbone. Control of molecular architecture using this technology has allowed us to address the long-standing technical issue of contact quenching between fluorescent dyes offering new possibilities in the life sciences arena. Much like peptidic sequences coding for enzymes, cofactors, and receptors (all needing control of tertiary structure for proper function via primary sequence) our programmable system approaches a similar endpoint using a phosphate based polymeric backbone assembled in a completely automated fashion. Using this novel technology, we have efficiently synthesized several types of fluorescent dyes and demonstrated the programmability in molecule design, including the increases in brightness of the fluorescence emission.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • DNA / chemical synthesis*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemical synthesis*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
  • Molecular Structure
  • Organophosphorus Compounds / chemistry
  • Polymers / chemical synthesis*
  • Polymers / chemistry

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Organophosphorus Compounds
  • Polymers
  • phosphoramidite
  • DNA

Grants and funding

All work funded by Sony Corporation and Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for all authors, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.