Peroxidase activity-structure relationship of the intermolecular four-stranded G-quadruplex-hemin complexes and their application in Hg ion detection

The peroxidase activities of the complexes of hemin and intermolecular four-stranded G-quadruplexes formed by short-stranded X_nG_mX_p sequences (X = A, T or C), especially T_nG_mT_p sequences, were compared. The results, combining with those of circular dichroism (CD) spectra and acid-base transition study for DNA-hemin complexes, provide some important information about DNAzymes based on G-quadruplex-hemin complexes, such as the formation of a G-quadruplex structure is an important factor for determining whether a DNA sequence can enhance the catalytic activity of hemin; both intramolecular parallel G-quadruplexes and intermolecular four-stranded parallel G-quadruplexes can enhance the catalytic activity of hemin; the addition of T nucleotides to the 5′-end of a G-tract confers corresponding G-quadruplex greatly enhanced catalytic activity, whereas the addition of T nucleotides to the 3′-end of the G-tract has little effect; the high catalytic activity of hemin in the presence of some short-stranded G-rich sequences may be a result of the reduction of the acidity of the bound hemin cofactor. These studies provide more information for the DNA-hemin peroxidase model system, may help to elucidate the structure-function relationship of peroxidase enzymes and to develop novel, highly efficient peroxidase-liking DNAzymes. As a sequence of such an investigation, a new Hg²⁺ detection method was developed.     

Thermodynamic and conformational investigation of the influence of CdTe QDs size on the toxic interaction with BSA

Water-soluble fluorescent colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have been widely used in some biological and biomedical fields, so the interaction of QDs with biomolecules recently attracts increasing attention. In this study, the fluorescence (FL) quenching method, circular dichroism (CD) technique, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and UV-vis absorption spectra were used to investigate systematically the influence of CdTe QDs size on the toxic interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Three size CdTe QDs with maximum emission of 543 nm (green-emitting QDs, GQDs), 579 nm (yellow-emitting QDs, YQDs) and 647 nm (red-emitting QDs, RQDs) were tested. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant (K_sv) at different temperatures, corresponding thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔG and ΔS), and information of the structural features of BSA were gained. The FL results indicated that QDs can effectively quench the FL of BSA in a size-dependent manner, electrostatic interactions play a major role in the binding reaction, and the nature of quenching is static, resulting in forming QDs-BSA complexes. The CD and ATR-FTIR spectra showed that the secondary structure of BSA was changed by QDs, indicating the toxic on protein.     

An excimer ‘ONOFF’ switch based on telomeric G-quadruplex and rGO for trace thrombin detection

In the recent decade, GO has emerged as an amazing 2D nanomaterial for developing DNA-based biosensors due to its fluorescence quenching properties, whereas similar research based on rGO was reported rarely. Herein, a novel multi-pyrene functionalized G-rich DNA probe based on the screened rGO showed much higher fluorescence quenching efficiency and excimer emission than that of universal GO. Different from the universal thrombin detection of the G4-forming aptamer-TBA(GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG), the original telomeric sequence is used in this study. The excimer emission “ON-OFF” switch amplified the response of thrombin detection is as low as 50 units. Furthermore, for four pyrene moieties that are sited in a crowded steric circumstance, the melting temperature (T_m) values and molecular dynamics simulations showed a positive effect on duplex G-quadruplex or _GDNA·_cDNA stability, without disturbing its helix structure.     

Spectral properties and G-quadruplex DNA binding selectivities of a series of unsymmetrical perylene diimides

A series of new unsymmetrical perylene diimides have been synthesized to investigate their binding selectivities to G-quadruplex DNA structure, a unique four-stranded DNA motif, which is significant to the regulation of telomerase activity. The structures of the perylene diimides have been characterized by IR spectrophotometer, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS, TGA and time-resolved instruments. Spectrochemical behaviors have been investigated by visible absorption and fluorescence emission spectra. The spectral characterization of the compounds has been investigated in five common organic solvents of different polarity and in water (in 170 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6). Marked red shifts of absorbance and fluorescence emission bands of the compounds in aqueous solution are compared with the other organic solutions. The fluorescence quantum yields are determined low in more polar solvents and also calculated to be about less than about 0.05 in aqueous solution because of the aggregation effects. Photodegradation rate constants (k_p) of the synthesized compounds have been compared under xenon lamp irradiation in acetonitrile solution.Binding abilities of the synthesized perylene diimides to different form of DNA strands have been investigated by visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy in the phosphate buffer solutions. Also, pH-dependent aggregation and G-quadruplex DNA binding selectivity of these ligands have been compared. Among these ligands, N-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-N′-(4-pyridyl)-perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PYPER) has been found to be the most selective interactive ligand for G-quadruplex formed in the G4′-DNA structure. PYPER has shown a significant selectivity to G4′-DNA which is comprised of d(TTAGGG) repeats, known as human telomeres, in the phosphate buffer at pH 6. The absorption maximum of the PYPER/G4′-DNA complex has given bathochromic shift of 7 nm with respect to the absorption maximum of DNA-free solution of PYPER in phosphate buffer at pH 6. Fluorescence quenching experiments between PYPER and G4′-DNA show that PYPER demonstrates about a 9.3-fold selectivity for binding to G4′-DNA versus ds-DNA base pairs with the bimolecular rate constant of 0.95 × 10¹² M⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Bichromophoric hemicyanine dyes as fluorescence probes applied for monitoring of the photochemically initiated polymerization

The spectroscopic properties of series homodimmeric hemicyanine dyes based on (p-N,N-dimethylaminostyryl)benzothiazolium, (p-N,N-dimethylaminostyryl)benzoxazolium, (p-N,N-dimethylaminostyryl)-2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium residues were determined. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the dyes under study were measured in different polarity solvents at room temperature. On the basis of the solvatochromic behavior the ground state (μ_g) and excited state (μ_e) dipole moments of bis-(N,N-dimethylaminostyryl) derivatives were evaluated. The dipole moments (μ_g and μ_e) were estimated from solvatochromic shifts of absorption and fluorescence spectra as function of dielectric constant (ε) and refractive index (n) of applied solvents. The absorption and fluorescence spectra are only slightly affected by the solvent polarity. The analysis of solvatochromic behavior of the fluorescence spectra as a function of Δf (ε, n) revealed that the emission occurs from a high polarity excited state. The large dipole moment changes along with the red-shifted fluorescence, as the solvent polarity is increased, demonstrates the formation of an intramolecular charge transfer state (ICT). Six bichromophoric hemicyanine dyes, possessing benzothiazole, benzoxazole or indolinium group linked by 5 or 10 methylene groups were evaluated as fluorescence probes applied for monitoring of the polymerization process. The study on the changes in fluorescence intensity and spectroscopic shift of studied compounds were carried out during photochemically initiated polymerization of 2-ethyl-2-(hydroxymethyl)-propane-1,3-diol triacrylate (TMPTA).     

Oxazine750对平行四股螺旋结构的识别与稳定作用

以d[TG₄T]₄、d[G₄T₄G₄]₂和c-myc序列为代表,采用竞争平衡透析、紫外光谱和圆二色光谱研究了oxazine750对四股螺旋结构的识别与稳定作用。 结果表明,oxazine750能够更好的结合在平行四股螺旋上,而对反平行四股螺旋结合较少。 热变性实验表明,oxazine750使d[TG₄T]₄形成的平行结构的四股螺旋的解旋温度提高了11 ℃,对c-myc形成的平行四股螺旋的解旋温度甚至提高了40 ℃。 而对d[G₄T₄G₄]₂形成的反平行结构解旋温度降低了近8 ℃。     

Sequence-specific detection of nucleic acids utilizing isothermal enrichment of G-quadruplex DNAzymes

G-quadruplex DNAzymes are peroxidase-like complexes formed by nucleic acid G-quadruplexes and hemin. Various chemical sensors and biosensors have been developed, based on such DNAzymes. Here we report a novel, specific nucleic acid detection method utilizing the isothermal amplification strategy of G-quadruplex DNAzymes. In this method, an unlabeled oligonucleotide probe was used. The probing sequence of the oligonucleotide was in the form of a stem-loop structure. A G-rich sequence, containing three GGG repeats, was linked to the 5′-end of the stem-loop structure. In the presence of target, the probing sequence hybridized to the target, and a G_n (n ≥ 2) repeat was extended from its 3′-end. This G_n repeat, together with the three GGG repeats at the 5′-end, folded into a G-quadruplex, and displayed enhanced peroxidase acitivity upon hemin binding. Utilizing the dynamic binding interaction between the probe and its target, the enrichment of G-quadruplex DNAzymes was achieved. Using this method, simple, rapid and cost-effective nucleic acid detection could be achieved. This method displayed high target-length tolerance and good detection specificity; one-base mismatch could be judged easily, even by visual inspection. This method may be used as an auxiliary tool for amplified detection of specific DNA targets in some situations, in which isothermal detection is desirable.     

Development of a new fluorescent probe for transition metal cations based upon fluorescence resonance energy transfer

A novel fluorescent probe for metal cations, which has a large Stokes shift, was synthesized from the reaction of N-(3-carboxy-2-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine-N,N′,N′-triacetic acid (CNEDTA) with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-ED). The large Stokes shift is due to the FRET phenomenon between a donor (CNEDTA) and an acceptor (DBD-ED) fluorophore. When the fluorescent probe, DBD-ED-CNEDTA, was excited at 240, 340 and 440 nm, an emission maximum was observed only at 560 nm. However, the fluorescence (FL) at 480 nm, based upon the CNEDTA moiety, was not detected with excitation at 340 nm. The FL intensity of DBD-ED-CNEDTA was dependent upon the acidity of the medium and highest at pH 4.1. DBD-ED-CNEDTA reacted with metal cations, i.e., Zn, Cd, Al, Y, and La, in aqueous medium to form chelates. The spectral change of FL excitation and emission was small before and after the addition of the metal ions. However, the FL intensity was dependent upon the concentrations of the metal ions. In the case of Zn²⁺, the molar ratio bound with DBD-ED-CNEDTA was calculated as 1:1. The FL intensities after chelate formation of Zn/DBD-ED-CNEDTA (1:1) were enhanced by 3.8-fold (excitation at 340 nm, emission at 560 nm), 4.2-fold (excitation at 440 nm, emission at 560 nm), and 5.9-fold (excitation at 240 nm, emission at 560 nm), respectively. The FL probe was applied to the determination of Zn in a food supplement.     

A dinuclear ruthenium(II) complex as an inducer and potential luminescent switch-on probe for G-quadruplex DNA

Given that recognition and regulation of G-quadruplex nucleic acid structures is an important goal for the development of chemical tools and medicinal agents, a dinuclear ruthenium complex [Ru₂(bpy)₄(bip-phenol)](ClO₄)₄ {bpy?=?2,2′-bipyridine, bip-phenol?=?2,4-bis(1H-imidazo[4,5-f] [1,10] phenanthroline-2-yl)phenol} has been synthesized and characterized, and its interactions with telomeric G-quadruplex DNA have been explored by photophysical and biophysical methods. This complex can induce and stabilize the formation of an antiparallel G-quadruplex of telomeric DNA in the absence of salt, or in the presence of K⁺/Na⁺-containing buffer. The complex binds strongly to the telomeric G-quadruplex, with a binding constant K_b?>?10⁶ and a 2:1 [complex]/[quadruplex] binding ratio. Fluorescence titrations revealed that the complex behaves as a promising photophysical “light switch” for G-quadruplex DNA, with 8.6- and 8.4-fold fluorescence enhancements in Na⁺ and K⁺ buffers, respectively.     

Stark and Zeeman spectroscopies of 4f 66s6p 7G1-6 levels in Sm I under external electric and magnetic fields

Systematic study of hyperfine structures, Zeeman and Stark effects in Sm I is performed for the lowest ⁷G_1-6 levels belonging to the configuration 4f ⁶6s6p by atomic-beam laser spectroscopy with fluorescence detection. The hyperfine coupling constants of ⁷G_2-6 levels are determined. From the Zeeman splittings for the 4f ⁶6s ^{2 7}F_2-6 ? 4f ⁶6s6p ⁷G_2-6 transitions, g-values are determined for the ⁷G_2.6 levels and the precision is improved by several orders of magnitude. From the Stark splittings for the ⁷F_0-3 ? ⁷G_1-3 transitions, tensor polarizabilities α ₂(J) are determined for the upper ⁷G_1-3 levels. Particularly for the ⁷G₁ level (15 650.55 cm^?1) which has close-lying opposite-parity level, the isotope dependence of α ₂(J) is clearly observed for the first time.     

Generation of harmonic radiation by helium atoms in intense laser pulses

Measurements of natural radiative lifetimes in atomic tellurium in the 5p ³7p configuration are reported. Two-step laser excitation was applied on tellurium vapour in a cell that was differentially heated and pumped through a capillary. The decay of the fluorescence signal was recorded at different vapour pressures. The following four radiative lifetime values were obtained: 7p ⁵ P ₁: 128(11) ns, 7p ⁵ P ₂: 99(8) ns, 7p ³ P ₁: 82(10) ns and 7p ³ P ₂: 124(8) ns.     

Synthesis of conjugated 2,7-bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)-(phenylethynyl)nfluoren-9-one and 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)-9-methyl derivatives: optical properties

2,7-Substituted 9-fluorenones and 9,9-disubstituted fluorene have been synthesized and their fluorescence properties analyzed. The synthesis of conjugated 2,7-bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)-(phenylethynyl)_nfluoren-9-one (or the 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)-9-methyl) structures was carried out by the heterocoupling reaction between the 2,7-di(halo)fluoren-9-one (or 2,7-dibromo-9-(p-methoxyphenyl)-9-methylfluorene) and p-trimethylsilylethynyl(phenylethynyl)_n (n=1,2), catalyzed by the dichloro bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium and cuprous iodide system, in a divergent synthesis.The π-extended conjugated compounds exhibit fluorescence radiation emission (blue light-emitting), with important quantum yield for the 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)-9-methyl-2,7-bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)-(phenylethynyl)_nfluorenes which increases with the conjugation.     

荧光素掺杂的TiO2凝胶的制备及光谱研究

近些年来,溶胶－凝胶（Ｓｏｌ－Ｇｅｌ）方法作为一种软化学合成方法具有很多优点［１］,例如制作简单、烧结温度低,制得样品稳定、坚韧,制备灵活性高等。作为一种常用的染料,荧光素（ＦＬ）常用于研究非线性光学。利用Ｓｏｌ－Ｇｅｌ法可以很好地将染料分子固定在光...     

Core-sheath functional polymer nanofibers prepared by co-electrospinning

Core-sheath polymer nanofibers with optoelectronic materials as the sheath and easily spinnable polymer as the core were prepared by co-electrospinning. Three prototypical systems of polystyrene/poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PS/PPV), poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PVA/PPV) and polystyrene/tris(8-quinolinolato) aluminum (PS/Alq₃) were investigated. The fluorescence microscopy images showed that the resulting nanofibers with uniform morphologies exhibited outstanding emission properties. The core-sheath structures of these nanofibers were observed by TEM investigation. The photoluminescence spectra indicated that the fluorescent properties of these functional core-sheath nanofibers could be influenced by the interaction between core and sheath materials.     

Simple and sensitive fluorescence sensor for detection of potassium ion in the presence of high concentration of sodium ion using berberine–G-quadruplex complex as sensing element

In this work, a novel potassium ion (K⁺) sensor is presented using berberine–G-quadruplex complex as a fluorescent probe. This sensor is based on the K⁺that can induce the G-rich DNA to form G-quadruplex conformation. The G-quadruplex can bind berberine to form berberine–G-quadruplex complex, resulting in remarkable enhancement of fluorescence emission of the berberine–G-quadruplex system. In the presence of 800 mM sodium ion (Na⁺), the fluorescence of the berberine–G-quadruplex complex increased linearly with increasing K⁺ concentration in the range of 0.005–1.0 mM. The turn-on fluorescent assay is simple, inexpensive, and highly sensitive. We observed that Na⁺ in 10,000-fold molar excess does not interfere. The molecular mechanisms which produce enhanced fluorescence of berberine were discussed.     

Quantitative Detection of G-Quadruplex DNA in Live Cells Based on Photon Counts and Complex Structure Discrimination

G-quadruplex DNA show structural polymorphism, leading to challenges in the use of selective recognition probes for the accurate detection of G-quadruplexes in vivo. Herein, we present a tripodal cationic fluorescent probe, NBTE , which showed distinguishable fluorescence lifetime responses between G-quadruplexes and other DNA topologies, and fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_f) enhancement upon G-quadruplex binding. We determined two NBTE -G-quadruplex complex structures with high Φ_f values by NMR spectroscopy. The structures indicated NBTE interacted with G-quadruplexes using three arms through π–π stacking, differing from that with duplex DNA using two arms, which rationalized the higher Φ_f values and lifetime response of NBTE upon G-quadruplex binding. Based on photon counts of FLIM, we detected the percentage of G-quadruplex DNA in live cells with NBTE and found G-quadruplex DNA content in cancer cells is 4-fold that in normal cells, suggesting the potential applications of this probe in cancer cell detection.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of π-extended fluorene derivatives: the first example of a fluorescent solvatochromic nitro-group-containing dye with a high fluorescence quantum yield

Functional π-extended fluorene derivatives, 2,7-di(p-substituted-phenyl)fluorenes containing different functional groups such as hydrogen, trimethylsilyl (TMS), methoxycarbonyl, cyano, and nitro groups, were synthesized. Except for the nitro group, the resulting compounds exhibited extremely high fluorescence quantum yields (Φ_F >0.85 in chloroform). The diphenylfluorene containing nitro groups have higher fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_F = 0.31 in N,N’-dimethyl-formamide) than other nitro-group-containing fluorophores which were previously reported (Φ_F <0.1). Furthermore, this compound exhibited large Stokes’ shift with green to orange emission and unique on-off behavior of the emission by solvents.     

Arene Ru(II) Complexes Acted as Potential KRAS G-Quadruplex DNA Stabilizer Induced DNA Damage Mediated Apoptosis to Inhibit Breast Cancer Progress

A series of arene Ru(II) complexes, [(η⁶-MeC₆H₅)Ru(L)Cl]Cl, (L=o-ClPIP, 1; m-ClPIP, 2 and p-ClPIP, 3) (o-ClPIP=2-(2-chlorophenyl)imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline; m-ClPIP=2-(3-chlorophenyl)imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline; p-ClPIP=2-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline) was synthesized and investigated as a potential apoptosis inducer in chemotherapy. Spectroscopy and molecular docking simulations show that 1 exhibits moderated binding affinity to KRAS G-quadruplex DNA by groove mode. Further, in vitro studies reveal that 1 displays inhibitory activity against MCF-7 growth with IC₅₀ = 3.7 ± 0.2 μM. Flow cytometric analysis, comet assay, and immunofluorescence confirm that 1 can induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells and G0/G1 phase arrest through DNA damage. In summary, the prepared arene Ru(II) complexes can be developed as a promising candidate for targeting G-quadruplex structure to induce the apoptosis of breast cancer cells via binding and stabilizing KRAS G-quadruplex conformation on oncogene promoter.     

利用对G-四链体环部的构型调节进行传感器的设计

对鸟嘌呤碱基G重复序列之间连接环结构对G-四链体形成的影响进行了研究。发现在连接环较长,DNA链不易形成G-四链体的情况下,可以通过将环序列设计成双链结构的方式促进G-四链体的重新形成。这就为传感器的设计提供了一个新途径,即可以利用目标分子对环部双链的调节作用控制G-四链体DNA酶的活性。为证明这一点,在双链区域引入T-T碱基错配,破坏双链结构使DNA链不能形成G-四链体。Hg2+对T-T错配的稳定作用可以促进双链结构的形成,DNA链重新折叠成G-四链体,得到的G-四链体与氯化血红素(Hemin)结合后形成具有过氧化物酶活性的G-四链体DNA酶,据此构建了Hg2+传感器。利用此传感器可在10~700 nmol/L范围内实现Hg2+的定量检测,检出限为8.7 nmol/L。在此基础上,利用半胱氨酸可以将Hg2+从T-Hg2+-T碱基对上竞争下来的能力,设计了一种半胱氨酸的检测方法。此方法可以在20~600 nmol/L范围内实现半胱氨酸的定量检测,检出限为14 nmol/L。