Phase separation and liquid crystallization of complementary sequences in mixtures of nanoDNA oligomers

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jan 29;105(4):1111-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0711319105. Epub 2008 Jan 22.

Abstract

Using optical microscopy, we have studied the phase behavior of mixtures of 12- to 22-bp-long nanoDNA oligomers. The mixtures are chosen such that only a fraction of the sample is composed of mutually complementary sequences, and hence the solutions are effectively mixtures of single-stranded and double-stranded (duplex) oligomers. When the concentrations are large enough, such mixtures phase-separate via the nucleation of duplex-rich liquid crystalline domains from an isotropic background rich in single strands. We find that the phase separation is approximately complete, thus corresponding to a spontaneous purification of duplexes from the single-strand oligos. We interpret this behavior as the combined result of the energy gain from the end-to-end stacking of duplexes and of depletion-type attractive interactions favoring the segregation of the more rigid duplexes from the flexible single strands. This form of spontaneous partitioning of complementary nDNA offers a route to purification of short duplex oligomers and, if in the presence of ligation, could provide a mode of positive feedback for the preferential synthesis of longer complementary oligomers, a mechanism of possible relevance in prebiotic environments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization
  • DNA / analysis*
  • DNA / chemistry
  • DNA, Complementary / analysis
  • DNA, Complementary / chemistry
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Microscopy, Polarization
  • Nanostructures / analysis*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry
  • Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes / chemistry
  • Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes / isolation & purification*
  • Phase Transition*

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes
  • DNA