Natural and artificial binders of polyriboadenylic acid and their effect on RNA structure

• Giovanni N. Roviello,
• Domenica Musumeci,
• Valentina Roviello,
• Marina Pirtskhalava,
• Alexander Egoyan and
• Merab Mirtskhulava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1338–1347, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.138

• molecules but also by interaction with nucleopeptides, metal–amino acid complexes, nanotubes, etc. Indeed, from a structural point of view, numerous studies were conducted in the last forty years describing in detail the properties of poly(rA) and its complexes with various molecules, such as DNA

• isoquinoline compound with poly(rA) concerned berberine [24]. In particular, this alkaloid was found to bind poly(rA) with greater affinity than double-stranded B-DNA or tRNA [24]. Recently, the ability of berberine to interact with single-stranded poly(rA) was the object of another investigation presented by

• study the same authors also studied the interaction of this alkaloid, already known for its binding to DNA, with double-stranded poly(rA) [34]. From fluorescence and UV studies a strong interaction of this alkaloid with poly(rA) double helix clearly emerged, and this binding was characterized by (a) an

PLGA nanoparticles as a platform for vitamin D-based cancer therapy

• Maria J. Ramalho,
• Joana A. Loureiro,
• Bárbara Gomes,
• Manuela F. Frasco,
• Manuel A. N. Coelho and
• M. Carmo Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1306–1318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.135

• performed in propidium iodide (PI)-stained S2-013, hTERT-HPNE and A549 cells after treatment with free calcitriol and calcitriol-loaded PLGA NPs at 1.2 µM for 72 h. PI counterstaining was used for DNA quantification. The differences in the DNA content between the cell population allowed the cell cycle

• calcitirol. The sub-G1 group represents the apoptotic cells with fractional DNA, which appear as cells with hypodiploid DNA content [27]. These data suggest that calcitriol antiproliferative effects, observed in cytotoxicity assays, could occur in consequence of cell cycle arrest. Discussion The

• harvested and fixed with 70% v/v ethanol. The cells were then stained with a DNA staining solution (0.1% v/v TritonX-100, 20 µg/mL PI and 35 µg/mL of RNase A in PBS) at a cell density of 106 cells/mL. FCM (FACSCalibur, BD Biosciences, CA, USA) was performed by plotting 12,000 gated events per sample. The

Polymer blend lithography for metal films: large-area patterning with over 1 billion holes/inch²

• Cheng Huang,
• Alexander Förste,
• Stefan Walheim and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1205–1211, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.123

• plasmons; Introduction Research on micro-/nano-sized island arrays and perforated films has drawn wide interest due to their applications in various fields, such as optical devices [1][2], DNA or protein electrophoresis [3][4], and catalysis [5][6]. Varieties of techniques have been developed to achieve

Probing fibronectin–antibody interactions using AFM force spectroscopy and lateral force microscopy

• Andrzej J. Kulik,
• Małgorzata Lekka,
• Kyumin Lee,
• Grazyna Pyka-Fościak and
• Wieslaw Nowak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1164–1175, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.118

• : fibronectin; lateral force microscopy; molecular recognition; torsional forces calibration; Introduction The invention of atomic force microscopy (AFM) opened up new areas of research as it can probe various biological structures with nanometer resolution, including images of DNA [1], proteins [2], and

• –streptavidin [8], or lectin–carbohydrate [9]. Direct measurements of intermolecular forces for complementary DNA strands have been carried out as well [10]. Protein–antibody interactions are of particular interest in immunochemical-based diagnosis [11]. Therefore, studies of the interaction forces provide

Microwave assisted synthesis and characterisation of a zinc oxide/tobacco mosaic virus hybrid material. An active hybrid semiconductor in a field-effect transistor device

• Shawn Sanctis,
• Rudolf C. Hoffmann,
• Sabine Eiben and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 785–791, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.81

• defined functional properties [1][2][3]. Significant interest has been dedicated to the generation of multifunctional devices by employing a unique combination of functional biological molecules and inorganic materials. The use of biological building blocks at the nanoscale include DNA, peptides

Influence of gold, silver and gold–silver alloy nanoparticles on germ cell function and embryo development

• Ulrike Taylor,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Christoph Rehbock,
• Wilfried A. Kues,
• Stephan Barcikowski and
• Detlef Rath

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 651–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.66

• fertility were found [38]. A study examining the influence of AgNP on spermatological parameters following intraveneous injection revealed a reduced sperm count and an increase in sperm DNA damage [39]. It remained unclear though whether AgNP had actually reached the germinative tissue, or whether the

• oocyte passing through a potentially harsh environment. Therefore male germ cells possess special attributes which accommodate for these conditions. The sperm nucleus, for instance, is surrounded by a tightly fitted double layered nuclear membrane, which is condensed to a degree that the DNA within

Novel ZnO:Ag nanocomposites induce significant oxidative stress in human fibroblast malignant melanoma (Ht144) cells

• Syeda Arooj,
• Samina Nazir,
• Akhtar Nadhman,
• Nafees Ahmad,
• Bakhtiar Muhammad,
• Ishaq Ahmad,
• Kehkashan Mazhar and
• Rashda Abbasi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 570–582, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.59

• , reduction in size of the NPs and increase in the photocatalytic activity [26][34]. It is, however, not well-understood how these NPs exactly work in the exposed cells. ZnO NPs were reported to cause toxicity by generating ROS [35], causing DNA damage, oxidative stress [36], an increase in caspase-3 activity

Hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: polymeric nanoparticle uptake and lineage differentiation

• Ivonne Brüstle,
• Thomas Simmet,
• Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Volker Mailänder

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 383–395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.38

• granulopoetic markers was significantly suppressed. Discussion Although nanoparticles are proposed as useful drug and DNA or siRNA delivery vehicles (which could potentially change the fate of stem cells), they could also influence the cellular fate of stem cells with a potentially devastating effect. While

Comparative evaluation of the impact on endothelial cells induced by different nanoparticle structures and functionalization

• Lisa Landgraf,
• Ines Müller,
• Peter Ernst,
• Miriam Schäfer,
• Christina Rosman,
• Isabel Schick,
• Oskar Köhler,
• Hartmut Oehring,
• Vladimir V. Breus,
• Thomas Basché,
• Carsten Sönnichsen,
• Wolfgang Tremel and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 300–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.28

• . Investigations of Hoshino et al. agree with our findings, a good biocompatibility was obtained with QDs-OH bearing a negative charge of −48 mV [48]. In contrast, positively charged QD-NH2 (+40 mV) as well as strongly negatively charged QD-COOH (−58 mV) led to DNA damages [48]. Therefore, we conclude that an

The effect of surface charge on nonspecific uptake and cytotoxicity of CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots

• Vladimir V. Breus,
• Anna Pietuch,
• Marco Tarantola,
• Thomas Basché and
• Andreas Janshoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 281–292, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.26

• solutions was carried out according to the manufacturer’s recommendation: Alexa Fluor-conjugated IgG1 anti-tubulin (BD Bioscience, Heidelberg, Germany) from mouse was used for labeling microtubules, and 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI, Sigma-Aldrich, Seelze) for nucleus and DNA labeling. Staining was

Tailoring the ligand shell for the control of cellular uptake and optical properties of nanocrystals

• Johannes Ostermann,
• Christian Schmidtke,
• Christopher Wolter,
• Jan-Philip Merkl,
• Hauke Kloust and
• Horst Weller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 232–242, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.22

• type of nanocontainers additional to the subsequently presented strategies. Functionalization properties For the biological use of encapsulated nanoparticles functionalizing of the capsules with relevant molecules (sugars, peptides), proteins or DNA is required. The most common coupling strategies are

Mechanical properties of MDCK II cells exposed to gold nanorods

• Anna Pietuch,
• Bastian Rouven Brückner,
• David Schneider,
• Marco Tarantola,
• Christina Rosman,
• Carsten Sönnichsen and
• Andreas Janshoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 223–231, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.21

• of nanomedicine results from both their therapeutic and diagnostic potential based on their tuneable size in the range of 1–100 nm [1][2][3][4][5]. Being in the size-regime of cellular components such as DNA and proteins, nanoparticles are capable to overcome native dielectric barriers like the cell

• (DNA, proteins, antibodies) with functional groups using self-assembly techniques relying on gold–thiol interaction. Since these NPs are engineered to interact with living cells it is essential to prove if there is no adverse impact on cell viability [5][10]. Prerequisite for successful medical

Functionalization of α-synuclein fibrils

• Simona Povilonienė,
• Vida Časaitė,
• Virginijus Bukauskas,
• Arūnas Šetkus,
• Juozas Staniulis and
• Rolandas Meškys

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 124–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.12

• factors including temperature, pH, and ionic strength. An incubation temperature of 4 °C was chosen to preserve the neutravidin-conjugated nanoparticles. Discussion Self-assembling biomolecules such as DNA, peptides or proteins are of special interest in the design and construction of nanoscale materials

• screening and restriction analysis. The presence of the desired mutation was verified by DNA sequencing (Sequencing Center, Institute of Biotechnlogy, Vilnius University). Expression and purification of mutant α-SynC141 Wild-type α-Syn and α-SynC141 mutant were purified as described by Der-Sarkissian et al

Chemoselective silicification of synthetic peptides and polyamines

• Maryna Abacilar,
• Fabian Daus and
• Armin Geyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 103–110, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.10

• preventing unintentional lithification of cellular structures since numerous cellular components such as membranes, DNA, and proteins are known to precipitate nanosilica. The diatom metabolism makes use of techniques that restrict silicification to an armor of silica around the cell wall while avoiding the

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and their applications

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz,
• Ozlem Sen,
• Melis Emanet,
• Emine Kazanc and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 84–102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.9

• only be used in biological applications after noncovalent [7] or covalent [15][16] modifications to increase their water dispersibility. Thus, they have been modified with several surface modifiers such as PEGylated phospholipids [17], and molecules of biological origin including DNA [18], proteins [13

• properties. However, this process adds further uncertainties to the assessment since another material is introduced into the system. For example, polyethylenimine (PEI) is a cytocompatible polymer and principally used for DNA transfection and cell permeabilization. The BNNTs were coated with PEI for

• [74]. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA content in cell lysates, and apoptosis of cells were assessed using SH-SY5Y cells. The cells were exposed to GC–BNNTs up to 100 µg/mL. They found that the GC–BNNT-dependent toxic concentration was lower than the 50 µg/mL. On the other hand

Proinflammatory and cytotoxic response to nanoparticles in precision-cut lung slices

• Stephanie Hirn,
• Nadine Haberl,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Matthias Epple,
• Wolfgang G. Kreyling,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Markus Rehberg and
• Fritz Krombach

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2440–2449, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.253

• nucleoside analogue to thymidine, into replicated DNA can be visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy. As shown in Figure 3, cell proliferation was not significantly altered as shown by this assay. Responses of PCLS after exposure to (nano)particles Cytotoxic response After 4 h of incubation with 20

Functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles as a platform for studying bio–nano interactions

• Cornelia Loos,
• Tatiana Syrovets,
• Anna Musyanovych,
• Volker Mailänder,
• Katharina Landfester,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus and
• Thomas Simmet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2403–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.250

• -NH2 led to characteristic DNA fragmentation, which is a definite sign of apoptosis. In contrast, xenografts grown on the CAM, which were treated with PS-COOH or saline, did not show DNA fragmentation [41]. THP-1 leukemia cells were more sensitive to PS-NH2 compared to human macrophages, which did not

Interaction of dermatologically relevant nanoparticles with skin cells and skin

• Annika Vogt,
• Fiorenza Rancan,
• Sebastian Ahlberg,
• Berouz Nazemi,
• Chun Sik Choe,
• Maxim E. Darvin,
• Sabrina Hadam,
• Ulrike Blume-Peytavi,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Jörg Diendorf,
• Matthias Epple,
• Christina Graf,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Martina C. Meinke and
• Jürgen Lademann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2363–2373, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.245

• . Reported studies on nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress use different read-outs for radical production including fluorochromic assays [39], depletion of antioxidants [40], enzyme activity (e.g., catalase [41], superoxide dismutase), or oxidative DNA damage. For example, reactive oxygen species-mediated

• DNA damage and apoptosis were detected in human skin epidermal cells after exposure to nickel nanoparticles [42]. Phototoxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles induced the generation of oxidative DNA damage during UVA and visible light irradiation in keratinocytes [43]. Oxidative stress and skin cell

Coating with luminal gut-constituents alters adherence of nanoparticles to intestinal epithelial cells

• Heike Sinnecker,
• Katrin Ramaker and
• Andreas Frey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2308–2315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.239

• and to the environment have been of interest for some time [3][4][5]. Also, numerous in vitro, less in vivo studies and some case reports described adverse effects caused by NPs on cell viability, protein functions and DNA stability as well as other cell and tissue impairments [6][7][8][9][10]. In the

Anticancer efficacy of a supramolecular complex of a 2-diethylaminoethyl–dextran–MMA graft copolymer and paclitaxel used as an artificial enzyme

• Yasuhiko Onishi,
• Yuki Eshita,
• Rui-Cheng Ji,
• Masayasu Onishi,
• Takashi Kobayashi,
• Masaaki Mizuno,
• Jun Yoshida and
• Naoji Kubota

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2293–2307, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.238

• used as a highly promising non-viral vector [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Indeed, it has been reported that a complex of the DEAE–dextran–MMA graft copolymer and DNA, which modified the properties of DEAE–dextran, had a transformation efficiency that was over 50-fold that of DEAE

• protective effect of DEAE–dextran against the action of DNase. That is, from Figure 1b, the absorbance variation of DEAE–dextran/DNA is large, so that there is a large amount of toluidine blue because the decomposition of DNA by DNase is promoted in the presence of DEAE–dextran/DNA from the earliest stage

• [15]. Conversely, for DDMC/DNA, the DNA decomposition hardly progressed, but the absorbance variation was very small. It is thought that the protective action from DNase digestion is markedly larger for DDMC than for DEAE–dextran, and this resulted in the increased transfection efficiency. Therefore

Localized surface plasmon resonances in nanostructures to enhance nonlinear vibrational spectroscopies: towards an astonishing molecular sensitivity

• Dan Lis and
• Francesca Cecchet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2275–2292, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.237

• ratio and single molecule sensitivity [81]. The authors used a colloidal silver mixture in which the molecular concentration was chosen so that only a single molecule was found within the probed volume, in average. They reported the SE-CARS detection of single DNA nucleotide (dAMP and dGMP, 90 pM

• estimated to be multiplied by 2000 by comparison to the same adenine layer without nanoparticle. Very interestingly, by using the adenine vibrational mode at 1330 cm−1, Hayazawa et al. succeeded to obtain a CARS vibrational mapping of a nanometric DNA network structure [86]. To do that, they used an

Biopolymer colloids for controlling and templating inorganic synthesis

• Laura C. Preiss,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2129–2138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.222

• templates: Biomacromolecules contain often functional groups (such as phosphates in DNA or carboxylic and amino groups in proteins) that are able to complex metal ions and act as nucleation centers for the growth of metal or mineral nanoparticles. The use of molecular templates as a support for inorganic

• nanoparticles may be referred to as “metallization” or “mineralization” (depending on whether metal or mineral particles are formed) of biopolymers. Zinchenko [45] reviewed the advances in the field, with special emphasis on DNA and its assemblies, but going also through the use of proteins. Although there are

• formed on the biomacromolecular chain, while in polymer-controlled crystallization processes the inorganic material is significantly larger than the macromolecules, which may get engulfed by the growing crystals. DNA chains have been coated by in situ deposition with different metals, metal oxides, and

Modification of a single-molecule AFM probe with highly defined surface functionality

• Fei Long,
• Bin Cao,
• Ashok Khanal,
• Shiyue Fang and
• Reza Shahbazian-Yassar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2122–2128, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.221

• double-stranded RNA and DNA molecules [12]. Despite all the success in these studies, one significant challenge remains in AFM-based SMFS, that is to attach only one or a few molecules to the AFM probes. In previous studies, the most common method depended on non-specific adhesions [13][14], which

Sequence-dependent electrical response of ssDNA-decorated carbon nanotube, field-effect transistors to dopamine

• Hari Krishna Salila Vijayalal Mohan,
• Jianing An and
• Lianxi Zheng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2113–2121, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.220

• variation in transistor electrical parameters including conductance, transconductance, threshold voltage and hysteresis gap. Our results showed that the response of ssDNA-decorated devices to DA, irrespective of the presence or absence of UA, was DNA sequence dependent and exhibited the trend: G > A > C and

• . Roughly, for each ssDNA sequence, 20 devices were used: 8 for DA, 5 for UA and 7 devices for a solution mixture of DA and UA. Results and Discussion Effect of ssDNA decoration on SWCNT FET response The FETs fabricated from bare SWCNT and DNA-modified SWCNT were tested with DA, UA and a solution mixture of

• devices, suggesting carrier scattering by molecular coating [16]. There were no major changes observed for gmp or H. According to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations [28][29], ssDNA interacts with the SWCNT sidewall through its DNA bases [30][31], with a significant number of the bases being desorbed [32

Properties of plasmonic arrays produced by pulsed-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films

• Katarzyna Grochowska,
• Katarzyna Siuzdak,
• Peter A. Atanasov,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Anna Dikovska,
• Nikolay N. Nedyalkov and
• Gerard Śliwiński

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2102–2112, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.219

• is widely used and investigated because of its stable physical and electrochemical properties and finds application in optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, as well as in the sensitive detection of species such as glucose, hydrogen peroxide and DNA fragments [56][57]. Samples of the Au–ITO