TY - JOUR
T1 - Label-free detection of conformational changes in switchable DNA nanostructures with microwave microfluidics
AU - Stelson, Angela C.
AU - Liu, Minghui
AU - Little, Charles A.E.
AU - Long, Christian J.
AU - Orloff, Nathan D.
AU - Stephanopoulos, Nicholas
AU - Booth, James C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge Ami Thakrar, Aaron Hagerstrom, Derek Houtz, Jasper Drisko, and Nina Popovic for their helpful discussion. The authors would like to thank the National Research Council and the NIST-on-a-Chip Initiative for funding. N.S. acknowledges startup funds from the Arizona State University. This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number FA9550-17-1-0053. N.S. and M.L. would also like to thank Prof. Hao Yan for the use of the AFM. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this paper in order to specify the experimental procedure adequately. Such identification is neither intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. Official contribution of the U.S. government, is not subject to copyright in the U.S.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Detection of conformational changes in biomolecular assemblies provides critical information into biological and self-assembly processes. State-of-the-art in situ biomolecular conformation detection techniques rely on fluorescent labels or protein-specific binding agents to signal conformational changes. Here, we present an on-chip, label-free technique to detect conformational changes in a DNA nanomechanical tweezer structure with microwave microfluidics. We measure the electromagnetic properties of suspended DNA tweezer solutions from 50 kHz to 110 GHz and directly detect two distinct conformations of the structures. We develop a physical model to describe the electrical properties of the tweezers, and correlate model parameters to conformational changes. The strongest indicator for conformational changes in DNA tweezers are the ionic conductivity, while shifts in the magnitude of the cooperative water relaxation indicate the addition of fuel strands used to open the tweezer. Microwave microfluidic detection of conformational changes is a generalizable, non-destructive technique, making it attractive for high-throughput measurements.
AB - Detection of conformational changes in biomolecular assemblies provides critical information into biological and self-assembly processes. State-of-the-art in situ biomolecular conformation detection techniques rely on fluorescent labels or protein-specific binding agents to signal conformational changes. Here, we present an on-chip, label-free technique to detect conformational changes in a DNA nanomechanical tweezer structure with microwave microfluidics. We measure the electromagnetic properties of suspended DNA tweezer solutions from 50 kHz to 110 GHz and directly detect two distinct conformations of the structures. We develop a physical model to describe the electrical properties of the tweezers, and correlate model parameters to conformational changes. The strongest indicator for conformational changes in DNA tweezers are the ionic conductivity, while shifts in the magnitude of the cooperative water relaxation indicate the addition of fuel strands used to open the tweezer. Microwave microfluidic detection of conformational changes is a generalizable, non-destructive technique, making it attractive for high-throughput measurements.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41467-019-09017-z
DO - 10.1038/s41467-019-09017-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 30862776
AN - SCOPUS:85062842575
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 10
JO - Nature communications
JF - Nature communications
IS - 1
M1 - 1174
ER -