Silver cluster emitters caged in DNA constructs

化学系的分析和表面化学（ASC）项目将支持加州大学圣巴巴拉分校Elisabeth Gwinn教授和Deborah Fygenson教授的合作研究项目。教授。Gwinn和Fygenson以及他们的学生将研究由几个银原子组成的簇，这些银原子被稳定在人造的纳米级DNA笼子里。这些研究的目标是利用精心设计的DNA链的自组装提供的精细结构控制来创建具有笼子选择光学和化学性质的微小光子发射器。单分子水平的光学表征，连同溶液荧光、质谱、电泳和建模，将有助于对这些荧光银簇DNA分子的基本理解，这将对未来在DNA模板纳米器件中的应用以及在现有显微镜分辨率以下的尺度上探测DNA结构的技术产生影响。参与这项跨学科研究项目的研究生和本科生将接受包括光学、化学、纳米技术和生物技术在内的一套互补的先进技术培训。学生们还将参加当地公立学校的家庭科学之夜，在那里他们将使用与他们的研究相关的有趣的动手活动来激发K-12学生对科学的兴趣。

The Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) program of the Division of Chemistry will support the collaborative research program of Prof. Elisabeth Gwinn and Prof. Deborah Fygenson of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Profs. Gwinn and Fygenson and their students will study clusters composed of just a few silver atoms that are stabilized within artificial, nanometer-scale DNA cages. The goal of these studies is to use the exquisite structural control provided by self-assembly of designed DNA strands to create tiny photon emitters with cage-selected optical and chemical properties. Optical characterization at the single molecule level, together with solution fluorescence, mass spectroscopy, electrophoresis, and modeling will contribute to a fundamental understanding of these fluorescent silver cluster-DNA molecules, which are poised for impact on technology through future use in DNA-templated nanodevices and in probing the structure of DNA constructs at scales below the resolution of existing microscopies. The graduate and undergraduate students involved in this interdisciplinary research project will be trained in a complementary suite of advanced techniques that encompasses optics, chemistry, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. The students will also be involved in Family Science Nights at local public schools where they will use fun hands-on activities that tie to their research to inspire K-12 students' interest in science.