Organomercury oligonucleotide-polydopamine nanoparticle assemblies discriminate between target sequences by Hg(ii)-mediated base pairing.

A fluorescently tagged oligonucleotide hybridization probe incorporating a single 5-mercuricytosine residue was synthesized and found to adsorb on polydopamine nanoparticles much more strongly than its unmetallated counterpart. Hybridization with target sequences led to release of the probe from the nanoparticle to varying degrees depending on the nucleobase opposite to 5-mercuricytosine.

Heterogenous Copper(0)-Assisted Dopamine Oxidation: A New Pathway to Controllable and Scalable Polydopamine Synthesis.

In this study, we introduce an approach for synthesizing polydopamine (PDA) through the controlled oxidation of dopamine using metallic copper. Traditional methods of PDA synthesis often encounter challenges such as scalability, reproducibility, and control over polymerization. Our approach utilizes the catalytic properties of metallic copper in the presence of dissolved oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) without additional chemicals.