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Formation and Structure of Fluorescent Silver Nanoclusters at Interfacial Binding Sites Facilitating Oligomerization of DNA Hairpins
Author(s) -
Geczy Reka,
Christensen Niels Johan,
Rasmussen Kim K.,
Kálomista Ildikó,
Tiwari Manish K.,
Shah Pratik,
Yang Seong Wook,
Bjerrum Morten J.,
Thulstrup Peter W.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202005102
Subject(s) - nanoclusters , fluorescence , small angle x ray scattering , dna , chemistry , gel electrophoresis , dna origami , nanotechnology , materials science , scattering , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , optics
Fluorescent, DNA‐stabilized silver nanoclusters (DNA‐AgNCs) are applied in a range of applications within nanoscience and nanotechnology. However, their diverse optical properties, mechanism of formation, and aspects of their composition remain unexplored, making the rational design of nanocluster probes challenging. Herein, a synthetic procedure is described for obtaining a high yield of emissive DNA‐AgNCs with a C‐loop hairpin DNA sequence, with subsequent purification by size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC). Through a combination of optical spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) in conjunction with the systematic study of various DNA sequences, the low‐resolution structure and mechanism of the formation of AgNCs were investigated. Data indicate that fluorescent DNA‐AgNCs self‐assemble by a head‐to‐head binding of two DNA hairpins, bridged by a silver nanocluster, resulting in the modelling of a dimeric structure harboring an Ag 12 cluster.