Abstract
Optically controlled release of a DNA strand based on a nonradiative relaxation process of black hole quenchers (BHQs), which are a sort of dark quenchers, is presented. BHQs act as efficient energy sources because they relax completely via a nonradiative process, i.e., without fluorescent emission-based energy losses. A DNA strand is modified with BHQs and the release of its complementary strand is controlled by excitation of the BHQs. Experimental results showed that up to 50% of the target strands were released, and these strands were capable of inducing subsequent reactions. The controlled release was localized on a substrate within an area of no more than 5 micrometers in diameter.
Highlights
Biological systems are both complex and dynamic
Good examples of these methods include conditional gene editing and gene expression by optical regulation of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) associated protein 9 (Cas9) activity [4], light-induced in vivo gene transfer using multifunctional nanocarriers [5], optical activation of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β ) signal transduction assisted by carbon nanotubes [6], femtosecond-laser induced gene transcription by activation of the nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) proteins [7], and artificial targeted light-activated nanoscissors for use as a sequence-specific DNA cleavage nanomaterial [8]
We studied the optically controlled release of DNA strands via the nonradiative relaxation of excited black hole quenchers (BHQs)
Summary
Biological systems are both complex and dynamic. While many sophisticated technologies have been developed to analyze and control the behavior of these systems, the determination and use of biological functions remains challenging [1, 2]. Light-induced dehybridization, or remotely controlled release of single-stranded DNA, has been demonstrated using gold nanoparticles and nanorods [16,17,18] This method can be extended to the selective release of DNA strands using nanorods of various sizes, which are melted by ultrafast laser irradiation at different resonance wavelengths [19]. Using a BHQ as an acceptor in a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system means that the release of DNA strands can be controlled using light at the absorption peak wavelength of the donor molecule. This provides wavelength selectivity for parallel or multiplexed control. We experimentally demonstrate the controlled release of DNA by excitation of BHQs, an ability to drive subsequent reactions with the released DNA, and localization of the controlled release process on a glass substrate
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