The switch of the DNA tetrahedral tweezers controlled by mercury ions

Xiaoyan Yan; Fang Wang; Huan Du; Xiaobing Huo; Ruyan Zhang; Ting Zhou; Xiufeng Wang; Guodong Zhang; Zhiqing Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2023.123614

The switch of the DNA tetrahedral tweezers controlled by mercury ions

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2024 Feb 5:306:123614. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.123614. Epub 2023 Nov 3.

Authors

Xiaoyan Yan¹, Fang Wang², Huan Du³, Xiaobing Huo⁴, Ruyan Zhang⁵, Ting Zhou⁶, Xiufeng Wang⁷, Guodong Zhang⁸, Zhiqing Zhang⁹

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: 1737374443@qq.com.
² College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: wangfang@upc.edu.cn.
³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: 535951786@qq.com.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: 1114007053@qq.com.
⁵ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: 1831743051@qq.com.
⁶ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: zhouting@upc.edu.cn.
⁷ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: xfwang@upc.edu.cn.
⁸ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: guodongzhang@upc.edu.cn.
⁹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China. Electronic address: zhangzq@upc.edu.cn.

PMID: 37939581
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.123614

Abstract

In this paper, the one-pot method is used to make the four DNA strands complement each other to construct the basic framework for DNA tetrahedral tweezers. To regulate the opening and closing of DNA tetrahedral tweezers, DNA strands with a high amount of T-base sequences is partially complementary to the tetrahedral framework. Hg²⁺ can form T-Hg-T hairpin structures with T-base. When DNA tetrahedral tweezers encounter Hg²⁺, the T-Hg-T structure is formed to shorten the connecting chain, and the tightening force causes the DNA tweezers to change from an open state to a closed state. Conversely, changes in fluorescence intensity due to the structure change can be used to detect the presence of Hg²⁺.

Keywords: Aptamer; DNA assembly; DNA tetrahedral tweezers; Fluorescence quenching.

MeSH terms

Base Sequence
DNA / chemistry
Ions
Mercury* / chemistry

Substances

Mercury
DNA
Ions