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SUMMARY:Sensing Molecules with DNA Origami - Prof. Tim Liedl ( LMU Munich)
DTSTART:20160426T100000Z
DTEND:20160426T110000Z
UID:TALK65299@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr. Ulrich Keyser
DESCRIPTION:We use the DNA origami method for the fabrication of functiona
 l self-assembled nanoscopic objects and materials. By offering attachment 
 sites for active nano-components on these DNA objects\, we have realized c
 omplex and nanometer-precise assemblies of fluorophores and plasmonic nano
 particles. \n\nWe are exploring molecular interactions with plasmonic nano
 antennas made by DNA origami. The nanoantennae are built up by pairs of go
 ld nanoparticles on DNA origami templates at separation distances between 
 9 nm and 3 nm in order to achieve strong plasmonic coupling and thus the f
 ormation of plasmonic ‘hot spots’. The constructs can be used as effic
 ient probes for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and as platform
 s for studying excitonic interactions with plasmon resonances. By combinin
 g the plasmonic hot spots with molecular excitons\, plexitonic states can 
 be attained and varying the size of the nanoparticles allows us to reliabl
 y tune the plasmon resonance of our nanoantennae to match the absorbance f
 requency of the exciton.\n\nIn recent experiments we studied force interac
 tions between biomolecules by employing a DNA origami force spectroscopy d
 evice without any physical connection to a micrometer-sized bead or cantil
 ever. We exploit the entropic elasticity of single-stranded DNA to apply t
 ension on two biomolecular systems mounted on our device: the transition b
 ehavior of a Holliday junction and the bending of a DNA promotor sequence 
 induced by the TATA-binding protein (TBP). We are able to generate reliabl
 e single-molecule force spectroscopy data in the piconewton range in a hig
 h throughput fashion. Our DNA origami force spectrometer can in principle 
 be employed with a wide variety of DNA interacting biomolecules.
LOCATION:Rayleigh Seminar Room\, Maxwell Centre\, JJ Thomson Ave
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