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Visualization of multimerization and self-assembly of dna-functionalized gold nanoparticles using in-liquid transmission electron microscopy Featured

authors
Sercan Keskin, Stephanie Besztejan, Guenther Kassier, Stephanie Manz, Robert Buecker, Svenja Riekeberg, Hoc Khiem Trieu, Andrea Rentmeister, and R. J. Dwayne Miller
date published
Nov. 19, 2015
journal
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
volume, number
6 (22)
pages
4487-4492
doi
10.1021/acs.jpclett.5b02075
ISSN
1948-7185
abstract

Base-pairing stability in DNA-gold nanoparticle (DNA-AuNP) multimers along with their dynamics under different electron beam intensities was investigated with in-liquid transmission electron microscopy (in-liquid TEM). Multimer formation was triggered by hybridization of DNA oligonucleotides to another DNA strand (Hyb-DNA) related to the concept of DNA origami. We analyzed the degree of multimer formation for a number of samples and a series of control samples to determine the specificity of the multimerization during the TEM imaging. DNA-AuNPs with Hyb-DNA showed an interactive motion and assembly into 1D structures once the electron beam intensity exceeds a threshold value. This behavior was in contrast with control studies with noncomplementary DNA linkers where statistically significantly reduced multimerization was observed and for suspensions of citrate-stabilized AuNPs without DNA, where we did not observe any significant motion or aggregation. These findings indicate that DNA base-pairing interactions are the driving force for multimerization and suggest a high stability of the DNA base pairing even under electron exposure.