G-rich oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticle aggregation

Anal Bioanal Chem. 2007 Apr;387(8):2623-6. doi: 10.1007/s00216-007-1126-1. Epub 2007 Feb 9.

Abstract

Guanine-rich DNA sequences commonly form helical quadruplex structures via Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds. The aggregation behavior of the nanoparticles, which are functionalized with four-guanine-terminated 27-base sequences at a nanoparticle-to-DNA ratio of 1:60, is investigated. To some extent, the guanine-quadruplex structures between the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) promote nanoparticle aggregation. However, the coordination site of the metal ion on the nanoparticle surface is partially passivated: the stability of guanine-rich DNA-GNPs is slightly lower than that of the usual DNA-GNPs, and the metal-ion specificity of nanoparticle assembly is substantially decreased. Thus, a mechanism for the aggregation of guanine-rich sequence-modified GNPs is proposed. It is possible to obtain a stable guanine-rich sequence-functionalized nanoparticle solution at high ionic strength by regulating guanine-rich DNA sequences. The controllability of guanine-rich sequence-modified nanoparticles makes the secondary structure of DNA a potentially useful candidate for DNA analysis and disease diagnostics. Figure Proposed mechanism for the aggregation of G-rich sequence-functionalized GNP.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Base Sequence
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Metal Nanoparticles*
  • Oligonucleotides / chemistry*
  • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet

Substances

  • Oligonucleotides
  • Gold