title: Stable dye-labelled oligonucleotide-nanoparticle conjugates for nucleic acid detection.
abstract: Metallic nanoparticles functionalized with oligonucleotides are used for a number of nucleic acid detection strategies. However, oligonucleotide-nanoparticle conjugates suffer from a lack of stability when exposed to certain conditions associated with DNA detection assays. In this study, we report the synthesis of thiol and thioctic acid-modified oligonucleotide gold nanoparticle (OGNs) conjugates functionalized with a dye label and varying spacer groups. The thioctic acid-modified conjugates exhibit increased stability when treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) compared to the more commonly used thiol modification. When the dye labelled oligonucleotide nanoparticle conjugates are exposed to the same conditions there is a pronounced increase in the stability for both thioctic acid and thiol modified sequences. These results open up the possibility of simply using a dye label to enhance the stability of oligonucleotide-nanoparticle conjugates in DNA detection assays where the enhanced stability of the conjugate system can be advantageous in more complex biological environments.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Nanometrology, WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral St., Glasgow, G1 1XL.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dougan
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Faulds
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Graham
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D004229:Dithiothreitol; D004355:Drug Stability; D006046:Gold; D017879:Isothiocyanates / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D058726:Nanoconjugates / Q000737:chemistry*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods*; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008063:Thioctic Acid / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D017879:Isothiocyanates; D058726:Nanoconjugates; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D008063:Thioctic Acid; D006046:Gold; D004229:Dithiothreitol