Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

0 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Probing DNA Stiffness through Optical Fluctuation Analysis of Plasmon Rulers.

ABSTRACT: The distance-dependent plasmon coupling between biopolymer tethered gold or silver nanoparticles forms the foundation for the so-called plasmon rulers. While conventional plasmon ruler applications focus on the detection of singular events in the far-field spectrum, we perform in this Letter a ratiometric analysis of the continuous spectral fluctuations arising from thermal interparticle separation variations in plasmon rulers confined to fluid lipid membranes. We characterized plasmon rulers with different DNA tethers and demonstrate the ability to detect and quantify differences in the plasmon ruler potential and tether stiffness. The influence of the nature of the tether (single-stranded versus double-stranded DNA) and the length of the tether is analyzed. The characterization of the continuous variation of the interparticle separation in individual plasmon rulers through optical fluctuation analysis provides additional information about the conformational flexibility of the tether molecule(s) located in the confinement of the deeply subdiffraction limit interparticle gap and enhances the versatility of plasmon rulers as a tool in Biophysics and Nanotechnology.

SUBMITTER: Chen T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4624404 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Quantum Plasmonics: Optical Monitoring of DNA-Mediated Charge Transfer in Plasmon Rulers.

Project description:Plasmon coupling between DNA-tethered gold nanoparticles is investigated by correlated single-particle spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy for interparticle separations between 0.5 and 41 nm. Spectral characterization reveals a weakening of the plasmon coupling due to DNA-mediated charge transfer for separations up to 2.8 nm. Electromagnetic simulations indicate a coherent charge transfer across the DNA.

| S-EPMC4783186 | biostudies-literature

Reversible Aptamer-Au Plasmon Rulers for Secreted Single Molecules.

Project description:Plasmon rulers, consisting of pairs of gold nanoparticles, allow single-molecule analysis without photobleaching or blinking; however, current plasmon rulers are irreversible, restricting detection to only single events. Here, we present a reversible plasmon ruler, comprised of coupled gold nanoparticles linked by a single aptamer, capable of binding individual secreted molecules with high specificity. We show that the binding of target secreted molecules to the reversible plasmon ruler is characterized by single-molecule sensitivity, high specificity, and reversibility. Such reversible plasmon rulers should enable dynamic and adaptive live-cell measurement of secreted single molecules in their local microenvironment.

| S-EPMC4545488 | biostudies-literature

Probing allostery through DNA.

Project description:Allostery is well documented for proteins but less recognized for DNA-protein interactions. Here, we report that specific binding of a protein on DNA is substantially stabilized or destabilized by another protein bound nearby. The ternary complex's free energy oscillates as a function of the separation between the two proteins with a periodicity of ~10 base pairs, the helical pitch of B-form DNA, and a decay length of ~15 base pairs. The binding affinity of a protein near a DNA hairpin is similarly dependent on their separation, which-together with molecular dynamics simulations-suggests that deformation of the double-helical structure is the origin of DNA allostery. The physiological relevance of this phenomenon is illustrated by its effect on gene expression in live bacteria and on a transcription factor's affinity near nucleosomes.

| S-EPMC3586787 | biostudies-literature

Calibration of Silver Plasmon Rulers in the 1-25 nm Separation Range: Experimental Indications of Distinct Plasmon Coupling Regimes.

Project description:In this manuscript pairs of flexibly linked silver nanoparticles, so called silver plasmon rulers, are synthesized using a rational DNA programmed self-assembly procedure. The plasmon resonance energy (E(res)) versus distance relationship is calibrated for dimers comprising sphere-like silver nanoparticles with diameters of 41.0 ± 4.6 nm and surface-to-surface separations between 1-25 nm. Single dimer Rayleigh scattering spectra are correlated with structural information of the same dimers obtained through transmission electron microscopy with 1 nm spatial resolution. The calibration reveals different plasmon coupling regimes. For larger separations the plasmon resonance energy red-shifts continuously with decreasing center-to-center distance (L) until the L to diameter (D) ratio reaches a value of L/D ≈ 1.05. For shorter interparticle separations E(res) does not further red-shift; instead the slope of E(res)(L/D) levels off, and the measured resonance energies become broadly distributed. Overall, the spectral response of nearly touching dimers indicates that the plasmon coupling does not continue to intensify with decreasing interparticle separation at very short separations. The performed characterization of the distance dependent plasmon coupling forms the quantitative foundation for applications of plasmon rulers in plasmon coupling microscopy and nanoplasmonic devices with defined near- and far-field properties.

| S-EPMC2893736 | biostudies-literature

Optical sizing of immunolabel clusters through multispectral plasmon coupling microscopy.

Project description:The wavelength dependent scattering cross sections of self-assembled silver nanoparticle clusters of known size (n) were measured on five different wavelength channels between 427 and 510 nm through correlation of multispectral imaging and scanning electron microscopy. A multivariate statistical analysis of the spectral response of this training set provided a correlation between spectral response and cluster size and enabled a classification of new measurements into four distinct nanoparticle association levels (I1-I4) whose compositions were dominated by monomers (I1), dimers (I2), trimers and tetramers (I3), and larger clusters (I4), respectively. One potential application of the optical sizing approach is to map association levels of silver immunolabels on cellular surfaces. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach using silver immunolabels targeted at the epidermal growth factor receptor on A431 cells in a proof of principle experiment. The ability to measure immunolabel association levels on subcellular length scales in an optical microscope provides new opportunities for experimentally assessing receptor density distributions on living cells in solution.

| S-EPMC3061089 | biostudies-literature

Plasmon Rulers as a Probe for Real-Time Microsecond Conformational Dynamics of Single Molecules.

Project description:Biopolymers such as DNA, RNA, and proteins exploit conformational changes to modulate their function. Although state-of-the-art single-molecule approaches enable identification of conformational states, the transition path and metastable intermediates often remain elusive because they occur on microsecond time scales. Here we introduce a method to probe conformational dynamics with microsecond integration times based on a heterodimer of plasmonic particles. By combining Brownian dynamics and electromagnetic simulations, we find that integration times of 1 ?s can be routinely achieved, providing the capability to identify short-lived intermediates and transition paths at the single-molecule level in real-time. Importantly, plasmon rulers require no specialized equipment but can be probed on existing fluorescence microscopes equipped with a fast camera. The approach combines the advantages of fluorescent probes (zero-force, parallelization) and mechanical probes such as optical tweezers (continuous microsecond integration times). They offer a unique opportunity to study conformational dynamics and compare measurements to full-atom simulations, where computational demands limit the simulation time.

| S-EPMC6328297 | biostudies-literature

Wide-Field Super-Resolution Optical Fluctuation Imaging through Dynamic Near-Field Speckle Illumination.

Project description:Stochastic optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI) generates super-resolution fluorescence images by emphasizing the positions of fluorescent emitters via statistical analysis of their on-and-off blinking dynamics. In SOFI with speckle illumination (S-SOFI), the diffraction-limited grain size of the far-field speckles prevents independent blinking of closely located emitters, becoming a hurdle to realize the full super-resolution granted by SOFI processing. Here, we present a surface-sensitive super-resolution technique exploiting dynamic near-field speckle illumination to bring forth the full super-resolving power of SOFI without blinking fluorophores. With our near-field S-SOFI technique, up to 2.8- and 2.3-fold enhancements in lateral spatial resolution are demonstrated with computational and experimental fluorescent test targets labeled with conventional fluorophores, respectively. Fluorescent beads separated by 175 nm are also super-resolved by near-field speckles of 150 nm grain size, promising sub-100 nm resolution with speckle patterns of much smaller grain size.

| S-EPMC8949730 | biostudies-literature

Superresolution optical fluctuation imaging with organic dyes.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC3007670 | biostudies-literature

Probing the salt dependence of the torsional stiffness of DNA by multiplexed magnetic torque tweezers.

Project description:The mechanical properties of DNA fundamentally constrain and enable the storage and transmission of genetic information and its use in DNA nanotechnology. Many properties of DNA depend on the ionic environment due to its highly charged backbone. In particular, both theoretical analyses and direct single-molecule experiments have shown its bending stiffness to depend on salt concentration. In contrast, the salt-dependence of the twist stiffness of DNA is much less explored. Here, we employ optimized multiplexed magnetic torque tweezers to study the torsional stiffness of DNA under varying salt conditions as a function of stretching force. At low forces (<3 pN), the effective torsional stiffness is ?10% smaller for high salt conditions (500 mM NaCl or 10 mM MgCl2) compared to lower salt concentrations (20 mM NaCl and 100 mM NaCl). These differences, however, can be accounted for by taking into account the known salt dependence of the bending stiffness. In addition, the measured high-force (6.5 pN) torsional stiffness values of C = 103 ± 4 nm are identical, within experimental errors, for all tested salt concentration, suggesting that the intrinsic torsional stiffness of DNA does not depend on salt.

| S-EPMC5449586 | biostudies-literature

Probing protein oligomerization in living cells with fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy.

Project description:Fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy provides information about protein interactions in the intercellular environment from naturally occurring equilibrium fluctuations. We determine the molecular brightness of fluorescent proteins from the fluctuations by analyzing the photon counting histogram (PCH) or its moments and demonstrate the use of molecular brightness in probing the oligomerization state of proteins. We report fluorescence fluctuation measurements of enhanced GFP (EGFP) in cells up to concentrations of 10 microM by using an improved PCH theory. The molecular brightness of EGFP is constant in the concentration range studied. The brightness of a tandem EGFP construct, which carries two fluorophores, increases by a factor of two compared with EGFP alone, demonstrating the sensitivity of molecular brightness as a probe for protein complex formation. Oligomerization of nuclear receptors plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression. We probe the oligomerization state of the testicular receptor 4 and the ligand-binding domains of retinoid X receptor and retinoic acid receptor by observing molecular brightness changes as a function of protein concentration. The large concentration range accessible by experiment allows us to perform titration experiments on EGFP fusion proteins. An increase in the molecular brightness with protein concentration indicates the formation of homocomplexes. We observe the formation of homodimers of retinoid X receptor ligand binding domain upon addition of ligand. Resolving protein interactions in a cell is an important step in understanding cellular function on a molecular level. Brightness analysis promises to develop into an important tool for determining protein complex formation in cells.

| S-EPMC307595 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data