Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 801 Ferst Drive NW, MRDC-1, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0295, USA.
Macromol Biosci. 2011 Jul 7;11(7):875-81. doi: 10.1002/mabi.201000490. Epub 2011 Apr 5.
DNA fibers were prepared by solution spinning of DNA in a lysozyme (LSZ) coagulation/gelation bath. Strong positive charges carried by LSZ protein condensed the DNA (strong negative charged) molecules resulting in self-assembly and the formation of fibrillar structures in a gel-like network. DNA/LSZ fibril formation was found to be dependent on the ratio of DNA to LSZ. A minimum 0.1 wt.-% of LSZ was necessary to condense 0.1 wt.-% of DNA into micro-fibrils. Macroscopic fiber spinning was possible by introducing a 0.1 wt.-% DNA aqueous solution into a 0.2 wt.-% LSZ coagulation bath which resulted in fibers with ≈20 µm diameter. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were also incorporated into these fibers to explore the possibility for creating hybrid materials. All DNA-based fibers exhibit strong birefringence confirming molecular orientation along the fiber axis. Due to the presence of LSZ, the fibers exhibit antimicrobial activity against bacteria like Micrococcus lysodeikticus.
DNA 纤维是通过在溶菌酶（LSZ）凝固/凝胶浴中将 DNA 溶解纺丝制备的。LSZ 蛋白携带的强正电荷使 DNA（带强负电荷）分子凝聚，导致自组装并在凝胶状网络中形成纤维状结构。发现 DNA/LSZ 纤维的形成取决于 DNA 与 LSZ 的比例。LSZ 的最小含量为 0.1wt.-%，以将 0.1wt.-%的 DNA 凝结成微纤维。通过将 0.1wt.-%的 DNA 水溶液引入 0.2wt.-%的 LSZ 凝固浴中，可以进行宏观纤维纺丝，从而得到直径约为 20µm 的纤维。还将单壁碳纳米管（SWNT）掺入这些纤维中，以探索制备杂化材料的可能性。所有基于 DNA 的纤维均表现出强烈的双折射，证实了分子沿纤维轴的取向。由于 LSZ 的存在，纤维对细菌如溶菌微球菌具有抗菌活性。
