Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Reactive Chemistry on Solid Surfaces, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Nanotechnology. 2013 Aug 30;24(34):345502. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/34/345502.
Double-stranded DNAs (ds-DNAs) have been identified as efficient templates favoring the formation of fluorescent copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs). Herein, we have tried to synthesize fluorescent Cu NPs using single-stranded DNAs (ss-DNAs) as templates and to identify the critical DNA sequences. By comparing the results using homopolymer DNAs, hairpin DNAs, and pristine ss-DNAs as templates, we found that DNA thymine base plays a dominant role in producing red-emissive fluorescent Cu NPs on ss-DNA templates. The thymine-dependent growth of the fluorescent Cu NPs is confirmed by Hg2+ mediated T–T base pair in comparison with the other non-specific metal ions, which could be developed into a practical sensor for turn-on fluorescence detection of Hg2+ with a high selectivity. The mechanism is briefly discussed according the DNA sequence-dependent formation of fluorescent Cu NPs. This work demonstrates the sequence role in producing fluorescent Cu NPs that could serve as promising fluorescent nanoprobes in biosensing and DNA-hosted Cu nanomaterials.
双链 DNA（ds-DNAs）已被鉴定为有利于形成荧光铜纳米粒子（Cu NPs）的有效模板。在此，我们尝试使用单链 DNA（ss-DNAs）作为模板合成荧光 Cu NPs，并确定关键的 DNA 序列。通过比较使用同聚物 DNA、发夹 DNA 和原始 ss-DNA 作为模板的结果，我们发现 DNA 胸腺嘧啶碱基在 ss-DNA 模板上生成红色发射荧光 Cu NPs 中起主导作用。与其他非特异性金属离子相比，Hg2+ 介导的 T–T 碱基对证实了荧光 Cu NPs 的依赖胸腺嘧啶的生长，这可开发为用于 Hg2+ 的荧光检测的实用传感器，具有高选择性。根据 DNA 序列依赖性形成荧光 Cu NPs 的机制进行了简要讨论。这项工作证明了序列在产生荧光 Cu NPs 中的作用，可为生物传感和 DNA 承载的 Cu 纳米材料中的荧光纳米探针提供有前途的选择。
