Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Adaptive Binding in the Malachite Green RNA Aptamer

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Biochemistry, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi400549sAdaptive binding, the ability of molecules to fold themselves around the structure of a ligand and thereby incorporating it into their three-dimensional fold, is a key feature of most RNA aptamers. The malachite green aptamer (MGA) has been shown to bind several closely related triphenyl dyes with planar and nonplanar structures in this manner. Competitive binding studies using isothermal titration calorimetry and stopped flow kinetics have been conducted with the aim of understanding the adaptive nature of RNA–ligand interaction. The results of these studies reveal that binding of one ligand can reduce the ability of the aptamer pocket to adapt to another ligand, even if this second ligand has a significantly higher affinity to the free aptamer. A similar effect is observed in the presence of Mg2+ ions which stabilize the binding pocket in a more ligand bound-like conformation.National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) [326911-2009]Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI

Development and Applications of Fluorogen/Light-Up RNA Aptamer Pairs for RNA Detection and More.

The central role of RNA in living systems made it highly desirable to have noninvasive and sensitive technologies allowing for imaging the synthesis and the location of these molecules in living cells. This need motivated the development of small pro-fluorescent molecules called "fluorogens" that become fluorescent upon binding to genetically encodable RNAs called "light-up aptamers." Yet, the development of these fluorogen/light-up RNA pairs is a long and thorough process starting with the careful design of the fluorogen and pursued by the selection of a specific and efficient synthetic aptamer. This chapter summarizes the main design and the selection strategies used up to now prior to introducing the main pairs. Then, the vast application potential of these molecules for live-cell RNA imaging and other applications is presented and discussed.journal article2020importe

Dna Nanotechnology For Nucleic Acid Analysis: Multifunctional Molecular Dna Machine For Rna Detection

The Nobel prize in chemistry in 2016 was awarded for \u27the design and synthesis of molecular machines\u27. Here we designed and assembled a molecular machine for the detection of specific RNA molecules. An association of several DNA strands, named multifunctional DNA machine for RNA analysis (MDMR1), was designed to (i) unwind RNA with the help of RNA-binding arms, (ii) selectively recognize a targeted RNA fragment, (iii) attract a signal-producing substrate and (iv) amplify the fluorescent signal by catalysis. MDMR1 enabled detection of 16S rRNA at concentrations ∼24 times lower than that by a traditional deoxyribozyme probe

A microfluidic DNA computing processor for gene expression analysis and gene drug synthesis

Boolean logic performs a logical operation on one or more logic input and produces a single logic output. Here, we describe a microfluidic DNA computing processor performing Boolean logic operations for gene expression analysis and gene drug synthesis. Multiple cancer-related genes were used as input molecules. Their expression levels were identified by interacting with the computing related DNA strands, which were designed according to the sequences of cancer-related genes and the suicide gene. When all the expressions of the cancer-related genes fit in with the diagnostic criteria, positive diagnosis would be confirmed and then a complete suicide gene (gene drug) could be synthesized as an output molecule. Microfluidic chip was employed as an effective platform to realize the computing process by integrating multistep biochemical reactions involving hybridization, displacement, denaturalization, and ligation. By combining the specific design of the computing related molecules and the integrated functions of the microfluidics, the microfluidic DNA computing processor is able to analyze the multiple gene expressions simultaneously and realize the corresponding gene drug synthesis with simplicity and fast speed, which demonstrates the potential of this platform for DNA computing in biomedical applications

Four-Way Junction Formation Promoting Ultrasensitive Electrochemical Detection of MicroRNA

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a class of biomarkers that are frequently deregulated in cancer cells and have shown a great promise for cancer classification and prognosis. Here, we endeavored to develop a DNA four-way junction based electrochemical sensor (4J-SENS) for ultrasensitive miRNA analysis. The developed sensor can be operated within the dynamic range from 10 aM to 1 fM and detect as low as 2 aM of miR-122 (∼36 molecules per sample), without PCR amplification. Furthermore, the 4J-SENS was employed to profile endogenouse hsa-miR-122 in healthy human and chronic lymphocyitc leukemia (CLL) patient serum, and the results were validated by qPCR analysis. © 2013 American Chemical Society