1. A duplex–triplex nucleic acid nanomachine that probes pH changes inside living cells during apoptosis
- Author
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Jian Song, Tao Cheng, Xue-Mei Li, and Pei-Yu Fu
- Subjects
Apoptosis ,Biosensing Techniques ,Biochemistry ,Analytical Chemistry ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer ,Humans ,Nanotechnology ,Cells, Cultured ,Chemistry ,Oligonucleotide ,Transporter ,DNA ,Equipment Design ,Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ,Fluorescence ,Förster resonance energy transfer ,Vincristine ,Duplex (building) ,Biophysics ,Nucleic acid ,Nucleic Acid Conformation ,Graphite - Abstract
A duplex-triplex switchable DNA nanomachine was fabricated and has been applied for the demonstration of intracellular acidification and apoptosis of Ramos cells, with graphene oxide (GO) not only as transporter but also as fluorescence quencher. The machine constructed with triplex-forming oligonucleotide exhibited duplex-triplex transition at different pH conditions. By virtue of the remarkable difference in affinity of GO with single-stranded DNA and triplex DNA, and the super fluorescence quenching efficiency of GO, the nanomachine functions as a pH sensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Moreover, taking advantage of the excellent transporter property of GO, the duplex-triplex/GO nanomachine was used to sense pH changes inside Ramos cells during apoptosis. Fluorescence images showed different results between living and apoptotic cells, illustrating the potential of DNA scaffolds responsive to more complex pH triggers in living systems.
- Published
- 2013
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