Self-assembly of structurally tunned nearly monodispersed HgTe ssDNA nanostars of average size 1.4 nm have been achieved by manipulating HgTe nanoparticles using single stranded (ss) DNA under galvanostatic condition. The nanostars are linked with one another by ssDNA of length 0.35 nm. Whereas, HgTe nanoparticles without ssDNA complexation show a polycrystalline character with size in the rang...

DNA nanotubes were created using molecular self-assembly of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-amphiphiles composed of a hydrophobic dialkyl tail and polycarbon spacer and a hydrophilic ssDNA headgroup. The nanotube structures were formed by bilayers of amphiphiles, with the hydrophobic components forming an inner layer that was shielded from the aqueous solvent by an outer layer of ssDNA. The nanotub...

Single stranded DNA (ssDNA) equilibrium dynamics are investigated using a fluorophore/quencher-labeled hairpin structure which thermally fluctuates between open and closed states. Temporal correlations of the fluorescence fluctuations are used to determine the energy barrier to conformational change. We find that ssDNA distortion is purely entropic for poly(T) but requires an additional enthalp...

Single stranded DNA aptamers that bind with high affinity and specificity to the oxytetracycline (OTC) were identified by selection from an oligonucleotide library of 10(15) molecules. The binding affinities of four aptamers were in nanomolar range. The aptamers were highly selective in that, lack of -OH group at 5-position in tetracycline and -H group in place of -OH at 6-position in doxycycli...

Fluorescence anisotropy is used to follow the binding of RecA to short single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) sequences (39 bases) at low DNA and RecA concentration where the initial phase of polymerization occurs. We observe that RecA condensation is extremely sensitive to minute changes in DNA sequences. RecA binds strongly to sequences that are rich in pyrimidines and that lack significant secondary st...

By performing a comprehensive study on 1832 segments of 1212 complete genomes of viruses, we show that in viral genomes the hairpin structures of thermodynamically predicted RNA secondary structures are more abundant than expected under a simple random null hypothesis. The detected hairpin structures of RNA secondary structures are present both in coding and in noncoding regions for the four gr...

Solid-state nanopores have emerged as possible candidates for next-generation DNA sequencing devices. In such a device, the DNA sequence would be determined by measuring how the forces on the DNA molecules, and also the ion currents through the nanopore, change as the molecules pass through the nanopore. Unlike their biological counterparts, solid-state nanopores have the advantage that they ca...

Analyses of interactions of the Escherichia coli replicative helicase, PriA protein, with a single-stranded (ss) DNA have been performed, using the quantitative fluorescence titration technique. The stoichiometry of the PriA helicase.ssDNA complex has been examined in binding experiments with a series of ssDNA oligomers. The total site-size of the PriA.ssDNA complex, i.e. the maximum number of ...

We study the dynamics of a linearly distributed line charge such as single stranded DNA (ssDNA) in a nanoscale, linear 2D Paul trap in vacuum. Using molecular dynamics simulations we show that a line charge can be trapped effectively in the trap for a well defined range of stability parameters. We investigated (i) a flexible bonded string of charged beads and (ii) a ssDNA polymer of variable le...

Immunoglobulin diversification is driven by activation-induced deaminase (AID), which converts cytidine to uracil within the Ig variable (IgV) regions. Central to the recruitment of AID to the IgV genes are factors that regulate the generation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), the enzymatic substrate of AID Here, we report that chicken DT40 cells lacking variant histone H3.3 exhibit reduced IgV s...