Small-angle neutron scattering and molecular dynamics structural study of gelling DNA nanostars
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2016
Citazione:
Small-angle neutron scattering and molecular dynamics structural study of gelling DNA nanostars / J. Fernandez Castanon, F. Bomboi, L. Rovigatti, M. Zanatta, A. Paciaroni, L. Comez, L. Porcar, C.J. Jafta, G.C. Fadda, T. Bellini, F. Sciortino. - In: THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS. - ISSN 0021-9606. - 145:8(2016), pp. 084910.1-084910.7. [10.1063/1.4961398]
Abstract:
DNA oligomers with properly designed sequences self-assemble into well defined constructs. Here, we exploit this methodology to produce bulk quantities of tetravalent DNA nanostars (each one composed of 196 nucleotides) and to explore the structural signatures of their aggregation process. We report small-angle neutron scattering experiments focused on the evaluation of both the form factor and the temperature evolution of the scattered intensity at a nanostar concentration where the system forms a tetravalent equilibrium gel. We also perform molecular dynamics simulations of one isolated tetramer to evaluate the form factor numerically, without resorting to any approximate shape. The numerical form factor is found to be in very good agreement with the experimental one. Simulations predict an essentially temperature-independent form factor, offering the possibility to extract the effective structure factor and its evolution during the equilibrium gelation.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
DNA; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Gels; Nanostructures; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Temperature; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Neutron Diffraction; Scattering, Small Angle; Physics and Astronomy (all); Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Elenco autori:
J. Fernandez Castanon, F. Bomboi, L. Rovigatti, M. Zanatta, A. Paciaroni, L. Comez, L. Porcar, C.J. Jafta, G.C. Fadda, T. Bellini, F. Sciortino
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