Abstract
Self-assembly has played critical roles in the construction of functional nanomaterials. However, the structure of the macroscale multicomponent materials built by the self-assembly of nanoscale building blocks is hard to predict due to multiple intermolecular interactions of great complexity. Evaporation of solvents is usually an important approach to induce kinetically stable assemblies of building blocks with a large-scale specific arrangement. During such a deweting process, we tried to monitor the possible interactions between silver nanoparticles and nucleobases at a larger scale by epifluorescence microscopy, thanks to the doping of silver nanoparticles with luminescent silver nanodots. ssDNA oligomer-stabilized silver nanoparticles and adenine self-assemble to form ring-like compartments similar to the size of modern cells. However, the silver ions only dismantle the self-assembly of adenine. The rings are thermodynamically stable as the drying process only enrich the nanoparticles-nucleobase mixture to a concentration that activates the self-assembly. The permeable membrane-like edge of the ring is composed of adenine filaments glued together by silver nanoparticles. Interestingly, chemicals are partially confined and accumulated inside the ring, suggesting that this might be used as a microreactor to speed up chemical reactions during a dewetting process.
Highlights
Nucleic acid at a larger scale by epifluorescence microscopy
Given the much lower cost of nucleobases compared to DNA sequences in the large-scale production of self-assembled superstructure, we investigated the interaction between silver nanoparticles and nucleobases in the concentration process of their aqueous solution via evaporation, and found that silver nanoparticles form ring-like superstructures resembling the size of cells
The size of the ssDNA-stabilized silver nanodots is similar to that of their protection group such as ssDNA, which is useful for studying the interaction between nucleobases and ssDNA-stabilized silver nanoparticles as silver nanodots would be sterically invisible among the silver nanoparticles[46]
Summary
Nucleic acid at a larger scale by epifluorescence microscopy. The similarity in ingredients between silver nanoparticles and luminescent silver nanodots enables the doping of silver nanoparticles with luminescent silver nanodots, and subsequently the actions of silver nanoparticles can be optically reflected by either a fluorometer or a fluorescence microscope[42,43,44]. Given the much lower cost of nucleobases compared to DNA sequences in the large-scale production of self-assembled superstructure, we investigated the interaction between silver nanoparticles and nucleobases in the concentration process of their aqueous solution via evaporation, and found that silver nanoparticles form ring-like superstructures resembling the size of cells
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