title: Pinpoint the Positions of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms by a Nanocluster Dimer.
abstract: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most fundamental internal causes for many genetic diseases. However, the location information on SNPs in a specific DNA sequence is not well acquired through current SNPs detection methods, except for accurate DNA sequencing. Here we report a fluorescence enhancement phenomenon in the process of two silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) approaching closely to form a nanocluster dimer (NCD). The fluorescence intensity is sensitive to the distance between two AgNCs; therefore, the NCD lights into different fluorescence intensities upon binding SNPs targets with mismatched bases at different positions. Interestingly, the fluorescence intensities of the NCD decrease linearly when the position of single mismatched base moves gradually from the middle point to the end of the target DNA. The NCD is a single probe acting as a universal platform to pinpoint various SNP positions. With this single probe, we cannot only identify the existence of SNPs but also pinpoint the location of a specific single mismatched base in the adjacent positions. This strategy is feasible to detect specific gene point mutations in clinical samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Beijing Key Lab of Radioactive Waste Treatment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuexiang
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2755-7733
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shixi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuewei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Linfeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Sichun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8927-2376
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinrong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D020137:Base Pair Mismatch; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013661:Tay-Sachs Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012834:Silver; D004247:DNA