Bioconjugation of aminated DNA as a method of rapid polymer library generation for Corona Phase Molecular Recognition

Abstract

An experimental study was performed to determine the effects on Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoMoRe) of bioconjugating a host of small molecules to DNA wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes. In addition, the study observed the effects of the DNA sequence length on the subsequent effectiveness of the small molecules to alter the corona phase. The conjugation of small molecules was shown to alter both the intensity and the position of the fluorescence and absorbance profile. The length of the DNA sequence was found to change the small molecule's ability to alter the fluorecence spectra of the wrapped nanotubes. The EDC/sulfo-NHS reaction was done to conjugate the small molecules to two identical DNA sequences with varying lengthes. Through the methods of ultraviolet-visibile-near infrared absorption spectroscopy, near infrared fluorescence spectroscopy, and high-performance liquid chromatography characterization and structural analysis were performed. The results showed the successful conjugation of the small molecules to the amino-modified DNA and an alteration in the corona phase. The small molecules were found to bind to the DNA at multiple locations and the length of the sequence was found to have an effect on the corona phase.