title: Nanoparticles featuring amino acid-functionalized side chains as DNA receptors.
abstract: A family of nanoparticles has been fabricated featuring cationic amino acid-based side chains. This controlled surface modification provides a tool to investigate the effect of various non-covalent interactions at the nanoparticle-DNA interface. The binding affinities of these nanoparticles towards DNA were determined using fluorescence, exhibiting more than threefold modulation in binding a 37-mer DNA strand. The secondary structure of the DNA strand was distorted upon nanoparticle binding, with the extent of distortion dependent on the structure of amino acid side chain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
authors.forename: Partha S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Belma
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rosado
authors.forename: Sai Archana
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Krovi
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Rotello
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D014320:Triphenylmethyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D005227:Fatty Acids; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D014320:Triphenylmethyl Compounds; D004247:DNA