Structural and Mechanical Characterization of DNA-Tethered Membranes on Graphene.

Langmuir

Center for Integrative Medicine and Physics, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.

Published: August 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Lipid membranes were created using DNA tethers that were attached to pyrene for functionalization and self-assembly with phospholipids, which resulted in uniform membranes verified by fluorescence microscopy.
  • High-energy X-ray reflectivity measured the membranes before and after hybridization, revealing that the tilting of DNA spacers was less than expected, indicating flexibility rather than a stiff upright structure.
  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that membranes with DNA tethers had higher resistance to compression compared to those without, while the unchanged yield depth implies that dsDNA can flexibly adjust its position due to the pliable pyrene-DNA connections.

Article Abstract

Lipid membranes that are separated from the surface of graphene by DNA tethers were prepared by surface functionalization with pyrene coupled to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), followed by self-assembly of the mixture of ssDNA-functionalized phospholipid and the matrix phospholipids. The formation of uniform membranes was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy, and the structures of the systems before and after hybridization in the direction perpendicular to the global plane of the membranes were investigated using high-energy X-ray reflectivity. The thickness values of the DNA spacers (15 and 37 bp) calculated from the best-fit results were less than the expected thicknesses of the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) chains taking the upright conformation, indicating that the DNA spacers are tilted with respect to the direction normal to the surface. The Young's moduli of the DNA-tethered membranes obtained by AFM nanoindentation showed higher values than the membranes with no DNA tethers, which suggests that the DNA layer resists against the compression, lifting up the membrane. Intriguingly, the presence of DNA tethers caused no increase in the yield depth. The smaller thickness values as well as the unchanged yield depth suggest that the dsDNA chains can tilt and rotate, which can be attributed to the flexible pyrene-DNA junction.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c01957DOI Listing

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