Rational design, assembly and characterization of G-wires

Abstract

G-Wires are supramolecular DNA structures composing of a quadruplexstem. These structures have been reported to have potential for photo andelectrical conductance. However, this has yet to be realized.This thesis is concerned with the rational design of DNA sequences in orderto form well-structured G-Wires through optimized self-assembly andcharacterization of the products. Previous investigation has demonstratedthat the quadruplex topology formed from G-rich DNA can be controlledthrough geometric constraints. These constraints can be imposed throughvarious sequence arrangements which lead to specific structural features.A set of systematically varied DNA sequences were designed to form G-Wirestructures. These sequences underwent self-assembly in a range ofassembly conditions and the self-assembly products were characterized by arange of techniques such as gel-electrophoresis, NMR, UV-spectroscopy andfluorescence spectroscopy. The findings of this investigation have shownthat the rational design of DNA sequences successfully resulted in theformation of architecture with unique optical properties and significantlyincreased quantum yields.This work has the potential to further the ability of G-Wire structure to beutilized within multicomplex nanodevices in applications such as diagnosticsensing and nanoelectronics.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st May 2018

Date of Award	May 2016
Original language	English
Supervisor	Mateus Webba Da Silva (Supervisor), John Callan (Supervisor) & Bridgeen Callan (Supervisor)