Surface Electrochemistry of DNA Conformational Switches

这项研究的主要目的是深入了解功能性脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)的表面电化学性质。DNA作为遗传信息的载体，在生物学中起着举足轻重的作用，理解它的本质是至关重要的。除了典型的单链和双螺旋，复杂的DNA纳米结构(所谓的DNA构象开关)可以被构建成具有所需的功能或反应性。使用标准的生化分析，完美的双螺旋和适当设计的DNA开关在溶液中被发现可以有效地调节电荷流。然而，当它们结合到电极表面时，这并不是普遍的机制；在这种情况下，DNA介导的和直接的电子转移都得到了实验观察的支持。

The main goal of the proposed research is to obtain a thorough knowledge of the surface electrochemistry of functional deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA). It is essential to understand the nature of DNA which plays a pivotal role in biology as the carrier of genetic information. Besides typical single strands and double helices, complex DNA nanostructures (so-called DNA conformational switches) can be constructed to have desired functions or reactivities. Using standard biochemical assays, perfect double helices and properly designed DNA switches in solution have been found to efficiently mediate charge flow. However, this is not the consensus mechanism when they are bound to an electrode surface; in that case both DNA-mediated and direct electron transfer are supported by experimental observations.