RUI: Measurement of DNA Thermal Denaturation (Tm) on Surfaces to Quantify the Effects of Surface Interactions on the Stability of Hybridized DNA Structures

在这项由化学系化学测量和成像计划资助的奖项中，威斯康星大学的Aric Opdahl教授和他的本科生研究人员将获得支持，使用各种分析方法研究DNA在表面上的热变性，包括表面等离子体增强荧光成像、原子力显微镜和其他方法。这项工作旨在阐明DNA与表面结合后的稳定性是如何变化的。DNA除了在许多高等生物中作为遗传信息的重要载体外，还越来越多地被用于纳米技术、医学诊断和其他意想不到的技术领域。DNA在技术上的许多较新应用需要将DNA固定在固体表面或其他结构上。DNA与表面的结合会导致其性质的变化，这些变化仍然知之甚少，但像Opdahl教授和他的学生这样的研究的目的是更多地了解DNA结合时性质变化的方式。除了这项研究的更广泛的科学影响外，参与这项研究的本科生将与一位有才华的研究人员和教育工作者一起接触分析化学的尖端研究。该研究计划还包括与国际伊比利亚国家实验室的国际合作，这将拓宽与Opdahl教授合作进行这项研究的年轻人的视野。

In this award, funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Aric Opdahl of the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse and his undergraduate student researchers will be supported to investigate the thermal denaturation of DNA on surfaces using a variety of analytical methods, including surface Plasmon-enhanced fluorescence imaging, atomic force microscopy, and other methods. The work aims to elucidate how the stability of DNA changes upon binding to surfaces.Besides being important as the carrier of genetic information in many higher organisms, DNA is increasingly being used in nanotechnology, medical diagnostics, and other unexpected areas of technology. Many of the newer applications of DNA in technology require the immobilization of DNA onto solid surfaces or other structures. The binding of DNA to surfaces causes changes in its properties that are still poorly understood, it is the aim of research like that of Prof. Opdahl and his students to learn much more about the ways in which the properties of DNA change upon binding. Besides the broader scientific impact of this research, the undergraduate research students participating in this research will be exposed to cutting-edge research in analytical chemistry with a talented researcher and educator. The research program also includes an international collaboration with the International Iberian National Laboratory, which will broaden the horizons of the young people working with Prof. Opdahl on this research.