Issue 39, 2022

Protection of DNA by metal ions at 95 °C: from lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior to coordination-driven self-assembly

Abstract

While polyvalent metal ions and heating can both degrade nucleic acids, we herein report that a combination of them leads to stabilization. After incubating 4 mM various metal ions and DNA oligonucleotides at 95 °C for 3 h at pH 6 or 8, metal ions were divided into four groups based on gel electrophoresis results. Mg2+ can stabilize DNA at pH 6 without forming stable nanoparticles at room temperature. Co2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+ all protected the DNA and formed nanoparticles, whereas the nanoparticles formed with Fe2+ and Ni2+ were so stable that they remained even in the presence of EDTA. At pH 8, Ce3+ and Pb2+ showed degraded DNA bands. For Mg2+, better protection was achieved with higher metal and DNA concentrations. By monitoring temperature-programmed fluorescence change, a sudden drop in fluorescence intensity attributable to the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transition of DNA was found to be around 80 °C for Mg2+, while this transition temperature decreased with increasing Mn2+ concentration. The unexpected thermal stability of DNA enabled by metal ions is useful for extending the application of DNA at high temperatures, forming coordination-driven nanomaterials, and it might offer insights into the origin of life on the early Earth.

Graphical abstract: Protection of DNA by metal ions at 95 °C: from lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior to coordination-driven self-assembly

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Mezh. 2022
Accepted
03 Gwen. 2022
First published
05 Gwen. 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 14613-14622

Protection of DNA by metal ions at 95 °C: from lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior to coordination-driven self-assembly

C. Lu, Y. Xu, P. J. Huang, M. Zandieh, Y. Wang, J. Zheng and J. Liu, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 14613 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR03461A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements