Stretching and unzipping nucleic acid hairpins using a synthetic nanopore
| Autor: | Jeffrey Comer, Qian Zhao, G. Timp, Sukru Yemenicioglu, V. Dimitrov, Aleksei Aksimentiev |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
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Molecular Nanostructure 02 engineering and technology Biology 010402 general chemistry 01 natural sciences Molecular dynamics chemistry.chemical_compound Structural Biology Electric field Genetics Molecule Protein secondary structure Silicon Compounds Electric Conductivity Biological Transport Membranes Artificial DNA 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Nanostructures 0104 chemical sciences Threshold voltage Nanopore Biochemistry chemistry Biophysics Nucleic Acid Conformation 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Nucleic Acids Research |
| ISSN: | 1362-4962 0305-1048 |
| Popis: | We have explored the electromechanical properties of DNA by using an electric field to force single hairpin molecules to translocate through a synthetic pore in a silicon nitride membrane. We observe a threshold voltage for translocation of the hairpin through the pore that depends sensitively on the diameter and the secondary structure of the DNA. The threshold for a diameter 1.5 < d < 2.3 nm is V > 1.5 V, which corresponds to the force required to stretch the stem of the hairpin, according to molecular dynamics simulations. On the other hand, for 1.0 < d < 1.5 nm, the threshold voltage collapses to V < 0.5 V because the stem unzips with a lower force than required for stretching. The data indicate that a synthetic nanopore can be used like a molecular gate to discriminate between the secondary structures in DNA. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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