A Route to Self-assemble Suspended DNA Nano-complexes

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2016 Feb 26

PMID 26912166

Citations 4

Authors

Yves Lansac

Jeril Degrouard

Madalena Renouard

Adriana C Toma

Francoise Livolant

Eric Raspaud

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Highly charged polyelectrolytes can self-assemble in presence of condensing agents such as multivalent cations, amphiphilic molecules or proteins of opposite charge. Aside precipitation, the formation of soluble micro- and nano-particles has been reported in multiple systems. However a precise control of experimental conditions needed to achieve the desired structures has been so far hampered by the extreme sensitivity of the samples to formulation pathways. Herein we combine experiments and molecular modelling to investigate the detailed microscopic dynamics and the structure of self-assembled hexagonal bundles made of short dsDNA fragments complexed with small basic proteins. We suggest that inhomogeneous mixing conditions are required to form and stabilize charged self-assembled nano-aggregates in large excess of DNA. Our results should help re-interpreting puzzling behaviors reported for a large class of strongly charged polyelectrolyte systems.

Citing Articles

DNA-protamine condensates under low salt conditions: molecular dynamics simulation with a simple coarse-grained model focusing on electrostatic interactions.

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Controlling the Formation of Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles Using Programmable pH Reactions.

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Condensed Supramolecular Helices: The Twisted Sisters of DNA.

Du G, Belic D, Del Giudice A, Alfredsson V, Carnerup A, Zhu K Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2021; 61(4):e202113279.

PMID: 34757695 PMC: 9300030. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202113279.

Local structure of DNA toroids reveals curvature-dependent intermolecular forces.

Barberi L, Livolant F, Leforestier A, Lenz M Nucleic Acids Res. 2021; 49(7):3709-3718.

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