Mechanistic Studies of Enhanced PCR Using PEGylated PEI-Entrapped Gold Nanoparticles.
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considered an excellent technique and is widely used in both molecular biology research and various clinical applications. However, the presence of byproducts and low output are limitations generally associated with this technique. Recently, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) has been shown to be very effective at enhancing PCR. Although mechanisms underlying this process have been suggested, most of them are mainly based on PCR results under certain situations without abundant systematic experimental strategy. In order to overcome these challenges, we synthesized a series of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified polyethylenimine (PEI)-entrapped gold nanoparticles (PEG-Au PENPs), each having different gold contents. The role of the synthesized NPs in improving the PCR technique was then systematically evaluated using the error-prone two-round PCR and GC-rich PCR (74% GC content). Our results suggest a possible mechanism of PCR enhancement. In the error-prone two-round PCR system, the improvement of the specificity and efficiency of the technique using the PEG-Au PENPs mainly depends on surface-charge-mediated electrostatic interactions. In the GC-rich PCR system, thermal conduction may be the dominant factor. These important findings offer a breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms involved in improving PCR amplification, as well as in the application of nanomaterials in different fields, particularly in biology and medicine.
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Aijun
A
Li
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Benqing
B
Zhou
CQM-Centro de Quimica da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira , Campus da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal.
Carla S
CS
Alves
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Bei
B
Xu
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Rui
R
Guo
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.|CQM-Centro de Quimica da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira , Campus da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal.
Xiangyang
X
Shi
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Xueyan
X
Cao
D006046:Gold; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006046:Gold; D011094:Polyethyleneimine
PEG−Au PENPs; electrostatic interaction; improvement; polymerase chain reaction; thermal conductivity