Surface Science of DNA Adsorption onto Citrate-Capped Gold Nanoparticles

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Langmuir copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by publisher. To access the final edited and published work see Zhang, X., Servos, M. R., & Liu, J. (2012). Surface Science of DNA Adsorption onto Citrate-Capped Gold Nanoparticles. Langmuir, 28(8), 3896–3902. https://doi.org/10.1021/la205036pSingle-stranded DNA can be adsorbed by citrate capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), resulting in increased AuNP stability, which forms the basis of a number of biochemical and analytical applications, but the fundamental interaction of this adsorption reaction remains unclear. In this study, we measured DNA adsorption kinetics, capacity, and isotherms, demonstrating that the adsorption process is governed by electrostatic forces. The charge repulsion among DNA strands and between DNA and AuNPs can be reduced by adding salt, reducing pH or by using noncharged peptide nucleic acid (PNA). Langmuir adsorption isotherms are obtained, indicating the presence of both adsorption and desorption of DNA from AuNPs. While increasing salt concentration facilitates DNA adsorption, the desorption rate is also enhanced in higher salt due to DNA compaction. DNA adsorption capacity is determined by DNA oligomer length, DNA concentration, and salt. Previous studies indicated faster adsorption of short DNA oligomers by AuNPs, we find that once adsorbed, longer DNAs are much more effective in protecting AuNPs from aggregation. DNA adsorption is also facilitated by using low pH buffers and high alcohol concentrations. A model based on electrostatic repulsion on AuNPs is proposed to rationalize the DNA adsorption/desorption behavior.University of Waterloo || Canadian Foundation for Innovation || Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation || Canadian Institutes of Health Research || Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council |

Study of family planning practices with special reference to unmet need among married women in rural area of Amravati district of Maharashtra

Background: At present various active programmes on family planning are running over the few decades but considerate number of people yet not motivated to adopt the family planning in their practical life. The study was conducted to find out the unmet need of family planning among the married woman of reproductive age in a rural area. Methods: Study design: Cross-sectional type of descriptive study. Settings: The study was conducted at Rajurwadi village under Primary Health Unit. Subjects: All the married women of reproductive age, residing in a selected village of Primary Health Unit were selected as the study subject.  Results: It was revealed from the present study that 27.7% of the respondents had unmet need for family planning. The reasons for unmet need were lack of knowledge, health concerns & Religious belief. Conclusion: Social correlates like age, religion & literacy sta­tus influenced the unmet needs of family planning. Good quality services and access to convenient methods are important to meet unmet need. \ud

Discovery and Optimization of DNA Gyrase and Topoisomerase IV Inhibitors with Potent Activity against Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria.

Herein, we describe the discovery and optimization of a novel series that inhibits bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV via binding to, and stabilization of, DNA cleavage complexes. Optimization of this series led to the identification of compound 25, which has potent activity against Gram-positive bacteria, a favorable in vitro safety profile, and excellent in vivo pharmacokinetic properties. Compound 25 was found to be efficacious against fluoroquinolone-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus infection in a mouse thigh model at lower doses than moxifloxacin. An X-ray crystal structure of the ternary complex formed by topoisomerase IV from Klebsiella pneumoniae, compound 25, and cleaved DNA indicates that this compound does not engage in a water-metal ion bridge interaction and forms no direct contacts with residues in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR). This suggests a structural basis for the reduced impact of QRDR mutations on antibacterial activity of 25 compared to fluoroquinolones

Behavior of colloidal gold nanoparticles in different ionic strength media

The increased applications of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) may lead to environmental release and transport to estuarine environments where NPs are expected to aggregate/agglomerate with increasing ionic strength. However, more stable NPs that may be resistant to high ionic strength media and more dispersed in the aquatic environment are being synthesized. Thus, understanding colloidal NPs' behavior in different ionic strength media is crucial for the assessment of the consequences of their environmental release. This work assessed the behavior of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), with diverse sizes and coatings, in media with different ionic strengths (from biological buffers to artificial seawater). Overall, in biological buffers and artificial seawater, citrate-coated AuNPs were unstable, displaying significantly increased sizes (between 100 and 400 nm), whereas no significant alterations (less than 5 % oscillation) were found for AuNPs with other coatings (bovine serum albumin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and polyethylene glycol). Data suggest that coated AuNPs, and probably other NPs, may be dispersed in the environment from freshwater to estuarine systems