DNA Origami in the Quest for Membrane Piercing.

The tool kit for label-free single-molecule sensing, nucleic acid sequencing (DNA, RNA and protein) and other biotechnological applications has been significantly broadened due to the wide range of available nanopore-based technologies. Currently, various sources of nanopores, including biological, fabricated solid-state, hybrid and recently de novo chemically synthesized ion-like channels have put in use for rapid single-molecule sensing of biomolecules and other diagnostic applications. At length scales of hundreds of nanometers, DNA nanotechnology, particularly DNA origami-based devices, enables the assembly of complex and dynamic 3-dimensional nanostructures, including nanopores with precise control over the size/shape.

Peptide translocation across MOMP, the major outer membrane channel from .

Here we report on translocation of short poly-arginines across the MOMP porin, the major outer membrane protein in the cell wall of . MOMP was purified to homogeneity from a pathogenic strain of . Its reconstitution in lipid membranes and measuring the ion-current revealed two main distinct populations of protein channels which we interpreted as mono and trimers.

Green Chemistry Approach for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using the Fungus Alternaria sp.

The synthesis of gold nanoparticles has gained tremendous attention owing to their immense applications in the field of biomedical sciences. Although several chemical procedures are used for the synthesis of nanoparticles, the release of toxic and hazardous by-products restricts their use in biomedical applications. In the present investigation, gold nanoparticles were synthesized biologically using the culture filtrate of the filamentous fungus Alternaria sp.