Layer by layer assembly of DNA film via Zr(IV) ion and its intercalation property

In order to study the molecular recognition ability of DNA and different behavior of dyes incorporated into the base pairs, DNA molecule was assembled layer by layer via a Zr(IV) ion. The UV absorption spectra showed the uniform layer assembly of the DNA film. The fabricated DNA film was water-insoluble and maintained the native B-form structure. UV and CD measurements showed that the DNA film could intercalate ethidium bromide (EtBr).     

Accumulated detection of ethidium bromide using a UV-irradiated DNA film modified electrode and its application for electrochemical detection of an environmental pollutant

In this study, DNA was first fabricated on a glassy carbon electrode by UV-irradiation. Through this process, water-soluble DNA was converted into insoluble materials, and a stable DNA film formed on the electrode. Ethidium bromide (EtBr), a typical model substance for harmful chemicals having planer structure, was used as an electroactive intercalator. This allowed our group to investigate the electrochemical and accumulative behaviors of the intercalator in UV-irradiated DNA film on the electrode. The UV-irradiated, DNA film-modified electrode (UV-DNA-FE) made it possible to accumulate electroactive EtBr on the electrode and detect it after accumulation. The modified electrode was used to detect dibenzofuran (DBF) as an environmental pollutant. The measurements were successfully obtained by focusing on the variation of the electrode response of EtBr, based on the competitive reaction between EtBr and DBF for the intercalating sites of DNA. The results indicated the possibility of using UV-DNA film as a sensing mechanism.     

Radiation induced DNA strand breaks measured by a modified method of gel scanning

Gel electrophoresis is an effective method for assaying plasmid DNA fractions, and UV lights with long wavelengths such as 315 nm is used to image the gel. In the present work, the sensitivities of detecting the fluorescence emitted from ethidium bromide (EB) stained DNA bands in the gel illuminated with UV lights of various wavelengths were compared. It was found that, in the range 245 to 320 nm, shorter excitation wavelength had higher detection sensitivity, thus 260 nm was selected for further studies. With this excitation light, as little as 0.7 ng DNA was detected. The fluorescence of DNA-EB bands had a good linear response to DNA quantity in a wide range. In addition, measured via this modified method, the yield of DNA strand breaks and the second-order rate coefficient of the reaction between DNA and √OH radical were consistent with many previous studies.     

多钼酸盐–柠檬酸复合膜的多色光致变色

制备了多钼酸盐–柠檬酸光致变色复合膜，紫外光照后发现不同摩尔比的复合膜呈现不同的颜色。当摩尔比为1.0，0.3和0.2时，变色后的薄膜分别显深蓝色，深黄褐色和淡海绿色。通过对薄膜的拉曼光谱分析证实呈现不同的颜色是由于在变色后的膜中生成了不同的物种。柠檬酸在光致变色过程中起着重要的作用, 在紫外光的照射下它作为空穴的捕获剂, 抑制了光生电子和空穴的复合, 使多钼酸盐呈现紫外光致变色现象。     

Molecular beacon probes of photodamage in thymine and uracil oligonucleotides

Molecular beacons (MB) are becoming more common as sequence-selective detectors of nucleic acids. Although they can easily detect single-base mismatches, they have never been used to directly detect DNA or RNA damage. To measure the degree of ultraviolet (UV) light damage in oligonucleotides, we report a novel MB approach for general detection of photoproducts in UV-irradiated rU17 and dT17 oligonucleotides. With monochromatic UV light irradiation at ca 280 nm under anoxic conditions, the oligonucleotide absorption decays with a single-exponential time constant of 123+/-1 min for rU17 and with double-exponential time constants of 78+/-0.5 min (99%) and 180+/-5 min (0.05%) for dT17 oligonucleotides. Under the same conditions, the MB fluorescence decays more quickly, with single-exponential time constants of 19+/-2 and 26+/-3 min for rU17 and dT17, respectively. Similar kinetics were observed with broadband UV light irradiation of oligonucleotides. The differences in the UV damage kinetics of dT17 and rU17 and their detection by absorption and fluorescence techniques will be discussed in the context of differential instabilities introduced in the nucleic acid-MB duplex by the different photoproducts formed.     

Thiazole orange as an everyday replacement for ethidium bromide and costly DNA dyes for electrophoresis

DNA gel electrophoresis is a standard tool of biochemistry and molecular biology laboratories. The common dye ethidium bromide suffers from toxicity concerns and requires the use of damaging ultraviolet light. We observe that exposing plasmid DNA to a UV transilluminator for only 1 s results in detectable loss of colonies following transformation, suggesting rapid accumulation of DNA damage. SYBR Safe, a commercial product, is marketed as a safe alternative to ethidium bromide and has excellent sensitivity with nondamaging blue light, but suffers from prohibitively high costs. We show that thiazole orange, the parent compound of SYBR Safe, is an excellent, simple, and inexpensive alternative to these dyes. It is excitable with safe blue light or UV light, with DNA detection limits in agarose gels similar to ethidium bromide and SYBR Safe (1–2 ng/lane). Thiazole orange safely allows the use of nondamaging blue light at the same cost as ethidium bromide.     

Gamma and ultraviolet radiation cause DNA crosslinking in the presence of metal ions at high pH.

M-DNA is a novel duplex conformation in which metal ions such as Co2+, Ni2+ or Zn2+ replace the imino protons of every base pair. An ethidium fluorescence assay was used to estimate lesions in M-DNA induced by gamma- and UV radiation. General damage to DNA was assessed from the loss of ethidium fluorescence after irradiation of calf thymus DNA. Crosslinks were measured from the return of ethidium fluorescence after a heating and cooling step. Strand breaks were estimated from the loss of fluorescence in covalently closed circular plasmid DNA after a heating and cooling step. For the Co2+ form of M-DNA, gamma-radiation caused the very efficient formation of crosslinks which was not observed with B-DNA nor with the Ni2+ or Zn2+ forms of M-DNA. The crosslinks occurred in both A-T and G-C base pairs but did not form in the presence of a free radical scavenger. Crosslinks induced by UV radiation also formed at a faster rate in the Co2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ forms of M-DNA compared to B-DNA; crosslinking occurred in all DNA but was more prominent in AT-rich sequences and was not inhibited by a free radical scavenger. Therefore, the presence of certain metal ions may lead to large increases in the formation of radiation-induced crosslinks in DNA.     

Syntheses of polymerizable viologens bearing a terminal vinyl group

Viologens that bore a terminal vinyl group were synthesized by four sequences of reactions: (1) N-vinylbenzyl-N′-n-propyl-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide chloride (V) was synthesized by the reaction of 4-(4′-pyrodyl)-N-n-propyl pyridinium bromide (III) with vinylbenzyl chloride; (2) N-β-acrylamidoethyl-N′-n-propyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dibromide (IX) was synthesized by the Menschutkin reaction of III with 2-aminoethyl bromide hydrobromide and subsequent reaction with acryloyl chloride; (3) N-β-methacryloyloxyethyl-N′-n-propyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dibromide and its analogs (XI) were synthesized by the reactions of III with the corresponding acyloxyalkyl bromides; and (4) N-vinyloxycarbonylmethyl-N′-n-propyl-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide chloride (XIII) was synthesized by the reaction of III with vinyl chloroacetate. With the exception of monomer XIII in which hydrolysis in large extent was observed during attempted polymerization, the synthesized monomers polymerized smoothly in aqueous solutions by a conventional radical procedure. Comparisons of the absorption peaks of the radical cations produced by reductions in aqueous solutions with those produced in films by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation indicate that the radical cations of polymers are associated intramolecularly in aqueous solutions.     

Effects of photo-activated bleomycin on deoxyribonuclease I, exonuclease III and deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I reactions

The activity of bleomycin to break the strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the presence of 2-hydroxy-1-ethanethiol (2-mercaptoethanol) was enhanced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Photo-activated bleomycin stimulated the action of deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) to degrade DNA and the DNA synthesis by DNA polymerase I with DNase I. On the other hand, although UV-irradiated bleomycin scarcely broke the DNA strand in the presence of 1,2-benzenediol (catechol), it stimulated the action of DNase I to degrade DNA in the presence of catechol. In accordance with the inhibition by catechol, when DNA treated with UV-irradiated bleomycin in the presence of catechol was employed as a primer for the DNA synthesis, the incorporation of precursor into the acid-insoluble fraction by DNA polymerase I with exonuclease III was reduced to about one-half of the incorporation into DNA treated with unirradiated bleomycin. These findings suggest that the ability of bleomycin to bind to double-helical DNA forming regions sensitive to DNase I was increased by an appropriate dose of UV irradiation and that catechol inhibited the activity of the UV-irradiated bleomycin to break the DNA strand rather than to bind to DNA.     

Quantitative analysis of the photodegradation of emitting CdTe nanocrystals dispersed in glass films

CdTe nanocrystals (NCs, green- and red-emitting) prepared by an aqueous method were embedded into transparent glass films (15-20 microm thick) using a sol-gel method. Photodegradation of the NCs in the films due to UV irradiation (365 nm) was investigated quantitatively by measuring the PL efficiency as a function of the irradiation time for various irradiation intensities at several temperatures. Since CdTe NCs prepared by an aqueous method incorporate sulfur atoms from the surfactant (thioglycolic acid) during prolonged reflux in an alkaline region, the surface of red-emitting NCs (3.9 nm phi) is much more sulfur rich than that of green-emitting ones (2.6 nm phi), as previously reported. Due to this composition difference, the degradation behaviors of the two types of NCs differ significantly. The photodegradation of green-emitting glass films depended linearly on the irradiation intensity, whereas that of red-emitting ones showed a quadratic dependence. The activation energies of the photodegradation for both types of films were similar, 304 +/- 9 and 288 +/- 7 meV/particle, respectively. The NCs in the film were more than 2 orders of magnitude more robust than those in colloidal solutions. Comparison of the degradation of the glass films in air and in an Ar atmosphere revealed that the main mechanism of the photodegradation of the green-emitting NCs was oxidization from the first electronically excited state. The mechanism of the red-emitting NCs was not oxidization but a surface change probably related to a surfactant reaction.     

Deoxyribonucleic acid strand break induced by the hydroxy radical-generating cyclic peroxide, 4-ethoxy-1,4-dihydro-2,3-benzodioxin-1-ol.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand break caused by a synthetic cyclic peroxide, 4-ethoxy-1,4-dihydro-2,3-benzodioxin-1-ol (Bd) was studied by both ethidium bromide fluorescence quenching and agarose gel electrophoresis. The Bd-mediated DNA strand break occurred dependently on temperature and also on Bd concentration. The reaction proceeded at a temperature higher than 30 degrees C (decomposition temperature of Bd), indicating that the reactive species generated by Bd-decomposition are responsible for the reaction. The reaction was protected by 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and NaN3, and also moderately by OH radical scavengers such as Na-benzoate and NaBr. Possible involvement of active oxygen radicals including OH radical in the DNA strand break is discussed in relation to the mechanism of Bd decomposition.     

6AZO-CONTAINING SELF-ASSEMBLY ULTRA-THIN FILMS AND THEIR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROPERTIES

A kind of azo-containing resin (Azo-R) was synthesized by a simple way through the coupling reaction of 2-nitro-N-methyldiphenylamine-4-diazoresin (NDR) with phenol, and a new covalentely attached multilayer film from Azo-R as H-donor and photosensitive diazoresin, diphenylamine-4-diazoresin (DR) as H-acceptor via H-bonding attraction by selfassembly technique has been fabricated. Following the decomposition of diazonium group of DR under exposure to UV light, the H-bonds between the layers of the film convert to covalent bonds and the film becomes very stable toward polar solvents or electrolyte aqueous solutions. Thus the UV-irradiated azo-containing films can be used to measure photocurrent in a conventional three-electrode photoelectrochemical cell using KCl as supporting electrolyte. It was confirmed that the azo-containing multilayer film is responsible for the photocurrent generation.     

芴酮引发光接枝改性LDPE膜的研究

采用紫外光引发接枝表面改性的方法,以芴酮(FL)为引发剂,在低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)薄膜表面上接枝丙烯酸(AA)、甲基丙烯酸(MAA)、丙烯酸甲酯(MA)、甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)、丙烯酰胺(AM)等单体,以赋予薄膜表面新的化学性质.考察了引发剂浓度、紫外光的辐照时间、辐照强度、单体种类对LDPE薄膜接枝程度的影响.结果表明,在一定范围内,增加芴酮浓度,可以提高单体的接枝率,但当芴酮浓度达到5%时,接枝率反而下降.延长辐照时间至4 min和提高紫外光的辐照强度达100 W/m2,均有利于接枝反应的进行.不同单体在LDPE膜上的接枝能力与单体的活性、单体与基材的相容性等因素有关.接枝后,LDPE与水的接触角下降程度不仅与单体在膜上的接枝量有关,还与接枝单体的亲水性能密切相关.     

Self-assembly of homopolymer and copolymers of N-4-hydroxyphenyl-acrylamide with diazoresin via H-bonding attraction

A kind of photoactive multilayer utrathin films has been fabricated via H-bonding attraction from hydroxyphenyl containing polymers as H-donor and diazoresin (DR) as H-acceptor by means of a self-assembly technique. The layer-by-layer deposition of two components is monitored spectrometrically and shows that the UV-VIS absorbance of the film increases linearly both at 250 nm (absorption of benzene nucleus) and at 383 nm (absorption of diazonium group), which indicates that the fabrication proceeds regularly. The nature of H-bonding between layers was verified by the determination of IR spectra of the film fabricated directly on a CaF₂ wafer. The stability of the films toward polar solvents increases dramatically after UV irradiation of the films. It was confirmed provisionally that the bond nature between the layers of the film changes from H-bonding to covalent bonding under UV irradiation. The photodecomposition of the -N₂⁺ groups of the film under UV light follows first order reaction kinetics and a mechanism of the photoreaction has been tentatively proposed.     

Dual triggering of DNA binding and fluorescence via photoactivation of a dinuclear ruthenium(II) arene complex

The dinuclear RuII arene complexes [{(eta6-arene)RuCl}2(mu-2,3-dpp)](PF6)2, arene=indan (1), benzene (2), p-cymene (3), or hexamethylbenzene (4) and 2,3-dpp=2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine, have been synthesized and characterized. Upon irradiation with UVA light, complexes 1 and 2 readily underwent arene loss, while complexes 3 and 4 did not. The photochemistry of 1 was studied in detail. In the X-ray structure of [{(eta6-indan)RuCl}2(mu-2,3-dpp)](PF6)2 (1), 2,3-dpp bridges two RuII centers 6.8529(6) A apart. In water, aquation of 1 in the dark occurs with replacement of chloride with biexponential kinetics and decay constants of 100+/-1 min-1 and 580+/-11 min-1. This aquation was suppressed by 0.1 M NaCl. UV or visible irradiation of 1 in aqueous or methanolic solution led to arene loss. The fluorescence of the unbound arene is approximately 40 times greater than when it is complexed. Irradiation of 1 also had a significant effect on its interactions with DNA. The DNA binding of 1 is increased after irradiation. The non-irradiated form of 1 preferentially formed DNA adducts that only weakly blocked RNA polymerase, while irradiation of 1 transformed the adducts into stronger blocks for RNA polymerase. The efficiency of irradiated 1 to form DNA interstrand cross-links was slightly greater than that of cisplatin in both 10 mM NaClO4 and 0.1 M NaCl. In contrast, the interstrand cross-linking efficiency of non-irradiated 1 in 10 mM NaClO4 was relatively low. An intermediate amount of cross-linking was observed when the sample of DNA already modified by non-irradiated 1 was irradiated. DNA unwinding measurements supported the conclusion that both mono- and bifunctional adducts with DNA can form. These results show that photoactivation of dinuclear RuII arene complexes can simultaneously produce a highly reactive ruthenium species that can bind to DNA and a fluorescent marker (the free arene). Importantly, the mechanism of photoreactivity is also independent of oxygen. These complexes, therefore, have the potential to combine both photoinduced cell death and fluorescence imaging of the location and efficiency of the photoactivation process.     

Layer-by-layer self-assembly of multilayer films containing DNA and Eu3+: their characteristics and interactions with small molecules

Thin films of alternating DNA and rare earth ion Eu3+ layers from dilute aqueous solutions were fabricated onto quartz substrates and silicon wafers through the layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique. UV-visible spectroscopy shows that a uniform layer of DNA can be fully adsorbed onto each alternate Eu3+ layer. Microscopic FTIR spectra show Eu3+ interacts with both the phosphate groups and nitrogenous bases of DNA, and the formation of [DNA/Eu]n films induces a change of the conformation of the DNA secondary structure to a certain extent. Various parameters affecting the DNA or Eu3+ loading into the composite film were investigated with emphasis on the effect of the pH and ionic strength of the DNA solution used for the film preparation. Atomic force microscopy was utilized to observe the morphologies of the DNA in the films obtained at two different pH values. Small molecules, such as alpha-tenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA), Hoechst 33258 (Hoe), and ethidium bromide (EB), are all observed to interact with Eu3+ or DNA in the [DNA/Eu]n films. The [DNA/Eu]n films incorporated with these molecules show different fluorescent characteristics, and the fluorescence intensity of the films versus the bilayer number has a good linear relationship, confirming the potential for creating a different luminescence ability of the multilayer by controlling the number of DNA/Eu bilayers.     

A Garratt-Braverman cyclization route towards the synthesis of phenanthridine derivatives and their DNA-binding studies

Garratt-Braverman cyclization has been employed to synthesize a series of dihydroisofuran fused phenanthridine derivatives. The established protocol proposes a simpler synthetic alternative to have access to these therapeutically relevant cytotoxic scaffolds. Single crystal X-ray data unambiguously confirmed the structures of the synthesized phenanthridine derivatives. UV–Vis absorption titration with calf-thymus DNA followed by fluorescence-based competitive ethidium bromide displacement assay established the synthesized target compounds as potent DNA-intercalating agents with intrinsic binding constant of the range 10³-10⁵. Results obtained from the molecular docking further justified the spectroscopically obtained results.     

Study the damage of DNA molecules induced by three kinds of aqueous nanoparticles

In this paper, the interaction of DNA molecules with aqueous CdTe quantum dots (CdTe QDs), CdTe/SiO₂ composite nanoparticles (CdTe/SiO₂ NPs), and Mn-doped ZnSe quantum dots (Mn:ZnSe d-dots) was studied with ethidium bromide as a probe. The purpose of this work was to study the damage of DNA molecules induced by these three kinds of water-soluble nanoparticles. It was found that ionic strength, pH value and UV irradiation influenced the PL emission properties of CdTe QDs, CdTe/SiO₂ NPs and Mn:ZnSe d-dots, and also influenced the interaction of DNA molecules with them. Among the three kinds of nanoparticles, DNA molecules were most easily damaged by CdTe QDs whether in the dark or under UV irradiation. The CdTe/SiO₂ NPs led to much less DNA damage when compared with CdTe QDs, as a silica overcoating layer could isolate the QDs from the external environment. Mn:ZnSe d-dots as a new class of non-cadmium doped QDs demonstrated almost no damage for DNA molecules, which have great potentials as fluorescent labels in the applications of biomedical assays, imaging of cells and tissues, even in vivo investigations.     

Synthesis, characterization, DNA binding and cytotoxicity studies of moxifloxacinato complexes

Five metal complexes of the third-generation quinolone antibacterial agent moxifloxacin with Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II) and VO(II) have been synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques. In these complexes, moxifloxacin acts as a bidentate deprotonated ligand bound to the metal through ketone and carboxylate oxygens. The interactions between the metal complexes and calf thymus DNA have been studied by UV?CVis, circular dichroism and cyclic voltammetry. Fluorescence competitive binding studies with ethidium bromide (EB) demonstrate the ability of the complexes to displace the EB bound to DNA. The cytotoxicities of the complexes have been evaluated on A549 cells by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) method. [Cu(MFL)₂(H₂O)₂] shows the highest anticancer potency. The apoptosis-inducing activity was assessed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining assay.     

Production of three radical cations from a single photon using a photo acid generator

Efficient generation of the organic radicals is a fundamental technology for preparing the spintronic materials. In this Letter, we present the chemical reaction of the three radical generation from a single photon. A photo acid generator which can release the multiple acid molecules via the automatic amplification mechanism was synthesized. The synthesized acid generator immediately released methanesulfonic acid by UV irradiation. Due to the amplification system, a maximum of three acid molecules can be produced from the single acid generator. In addition, the release of acid is induced by UV irradiation and automatically proceeds until the release of three acid molecules is finished. Finally, by employing the acid-catalyzed radical generation of tetrathiafulvalene, we also demonstrate the efficient radical generation triggered by UV irradiation in the polymer film.