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Structure-based DNA modification analysis provides accurate and important information on genomic DNA changes from epigenetic modifications to various DNA lesions. However, genomic DNA strands are often required to be efficiently digested into single nucleosides. It is an arduous task because of the involvement of multiple enzymes with different catalytic acitivities. Here we constructed a three-enzyme cascade capillary monolithic bioreactor that consists of immobilized deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALPase). By the use of this cascade capillary bioreactor, genomic DNA can be efficiently digested into single nucleosides with an increasing rate of ∼20 folds. The improvement is mainly attributed to dramatically increase enzymatic capacity and activity. With a designed macro-porous structure, genomic DNA of 5-30 Kb (∼1.6-10 million Daltons) can be directly passed through the bioreactor simply by hand pushing or a low-pressure microinjection pump. By coupling with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we further developed a sensitive assay for detection of an oxidative stress biomarker 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) in DNA. The proposed three-enzyme cascade bioreactor is also potentially applicable for fast identification and quantitative detection of other lesions and modifications in genomic DNA.

Polyvinyl pyrrolidone polymer (PVP) has been widely applied in biological and medical fields. A few in vitro studies indicated that PVP might cause toxicity. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In this work, we found that PVP directly induced strand breakages of various DNA molecules, implicating a cleavage activity. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging analysis shows that DNA cleavage activity of PVP is not related to ROS-induced oxidation. As revealed by gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, the major cleavage products of DNA were identified as two purine bases, guanine and adenine, suggesting that PVPs have a novel depurination activity. The selective depurination and DNA cleavage activity of PVPs were further confirmed by studying the interaction of PVP with four nucleosides and four well-designed oligodeoxynucleotides probes containing specific nucleotides. This study may provide insights into PVP-DNA interactions and resultant genotoxicity and may also open a new way for DNA study.

Modifications of genomic DNA may change gene expression and cause adverse health effects. Here we for the first time demonstrate a particle counting immunoassay for rapid and sensitive detection of DNA modifications using benzo[a]pyrenediol epoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts as an example. The BPDE-adducted DNA is specifically captured by immunomagnetic particles and then isolated from unmodified DNA by applying an external magnetic field. By taking advantage of the fluorescence signal amplification through multiple labeling of captured DNA by OliGreen dye, the captured BPDE-DNA adducts can be quantified by particle counting from fluorescence imaging. This clearly demonstrates that the number of fluorescently countable particles is proportional to the modification content in genomic DNA. It is interesting to note that the background fluorescence signal caused by nonspecific adsorption of OliGreen dye can be more effectively quenched than that induced by the binding of OliGreen dye to ssDNA, allowing for significant reduction in the background fluorescence and further enhancing the detection sensitivity. The developed method can detect trace BPDE-DNA adducts as low as 180 fM in the presence of 1 billion times more normal nucleotides in genomic DNA and has a dynamic range over 4 orders of magnitude. By using anti-5-methylcytosine antibody, the method is extended to the detection of global DNA methylation. With high sensitivity and specificity, this rapid and easy-to-perform analytical method for DNA modifications shows a broad spectrum of potential applications in genotoxical and epigenetic analysis.

Multiple labeling of nucleic acids by intercalative dyes is a promising method for ultrasensitive nucleic acid assays. The properties of the fast dissociation and instability of dye-DNA complexes may prevent from their wide applications in CE-LIF nucleic acid analysis. Here, we describe an optimum CE focusing method by using appropriately paired sample and separation buffers, Tris-glycine buffer and Tris-glycine-acetic acid buffer. The developed method was applied in both uncoated and polyacrylamide coated fused-silica capillary-based CE-LIF analysis while the sample and separation buffers were conversely used. The complexes of intercalative dye benzoxazolium-4-pyridinium dimer and dsDNA were greatly focused (separation efficiency: 1.8 million theoretical plates per meter) by transient isotachophoresis mechanism in uncoated capillary, and moderately focused by transient isotachophoresis in combination of field amplified sample stacking and further stabilized by the paired buffer in polyacrylamide coated capillary. Based on the developed focusing strategy, an ultrasensitive DNA assay was developed for quantitation of calf thymus dsDNA (from 0.02 to 2.14 pM). By the use of an excitation laser power as low as 1 mW, the detection limits of calf thymus dsDNA (3.5 kb) are 7.9 fM in concentration and 2.4x10(-22) mol (150 molecules) in mass. We further demonstrate that the non-gel sieving CE-LIF analysis of DNA fragments can be enhanced by the same strategy. Since the presented strategy can be applied to uncoated and coated capillaries and does not require special device, it is also reasonable to extend to the applications in chip-based CE DNA analysis.

Abstract: A DNA aptamer based high-performance affinity chromatography is developed for selective extraction and screening of a basic protein lysozyme. First, a poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic column was synthesized in situ by thermally initiated radical polymerization, and then an anti-lysozyme DNA aptamer was covalently immobilized on the surface of the monolith through a 16-atom spacer arm. The target protein lysozyme but non-target proteins can be trapped by the immobilized anti-lysozyme DNA aptamer. In contrast, lysozyme cannot be trapped by the immobilized oligodeoxynucleotide that does not contain the sequence of the anti-lysozyme DNA aptamer. The study clearly demonstrates the trapping of lysozyme by the immobilized anti-lysozyme DNA aptamer is mainly due to specific recognition rather than simple electrostatic interaction of positively charged protein and the negatively charged DNA. The inter-day precision was determined as 0.8% for migration time and 4.2% for peak area, respectively. By the use of aptamer affinity monolith, a screening strategy is developed to selectively extract lysozyme from chicken egg white, showing the advantages of high efficiency, low cost and ease-of-operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]