title: Switching the conformation of a DNA molecule with a chemical oscillator.
abstract: pH oscillations generated by a nonequilibrium chemical reaction are used to switch a pH-sensitive DNA structure between two distinct conformations. The utilization of a chemical oscillator represents a novel method for achieving autonomous motion in molecular devices. The oscillatory reaction is a variant of the Landolt reaction and produces pH variations in the range between pH 5 and 7. In this range, a cytosine-rich DNA strand can be switched between a random coil conformation and the folded i-motif structure. The conformational changes are monitored simultaneously with the pH value in fluorescence-resonance energy-transfer experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Center for Nanoscience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Münich, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liedl
authors.forename: Friedrich C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Simmel
mesh_terms: D003596:Cytosine / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D003596:Cytosine; D004247:DNA