A research group led by the doctor Miguel Ángel Galindo CuestaProfessor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Granada (UGR), he has achieved form DNA molecules with silver ions insidemaintaining the structure and double strand organization of this genetic material, as in nature.
In depth
This achievement, which has been collected in the last issue of the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications0, according to the UGR in a press release, allows “Expand the technology and development of systems based on DNA molecules, allowing the incorporation of metal ions inside“
The possibility of forming DNA molecules with silver ions, maintaining the structure and organization of double strand, allows “Improve the stability of the structures themselves“Of the same to develop nanometric systems based on DNA-Plata molecules”with high technological interest properties such as fluorescence and conductivity, and therapeutic, such as cytotoxicity or stabilization of DNA structures for genetic therapies“
The development of these systems Open possibilities of great interest to the field of nanoscience. From a technological perspective, the integration of metals such as silver could “Provide micro and DNA nanostructures with conduct and fluorescent properties“
More details
On the other hand, in the therapeutic field, the greatest stability that silver provides in the face of enzymatic degradation, together with its well -known antimicrobial activity, allows Design Stable and scheduled DNA-placules to interact with cell DNA or RNA, allowing applications development Very promising for biomedicine.
The results of this study have shown that DNA-placules developed in the UGR are capable of “emulate the structures that are formed using natural DNA, opening the door to the development of a wide variety of DNA-plastic structures in a rational way“
These new molecules are organized from a sequence of bases chosen in a strategic way, as is the case when used Natural DNAtherefore, it is possible to “choose sequences of basis of therapeutic interest”, have detailed from the UGR. The introduction of metal ions in these structures increases their stability and gives them new physical-chemical properties, opening the door to the development of multiple technological and biomedical applications.
To take into account
To achieve this, researchers have made a slight chemical modification in the bases of Adenina and Guanina that form the DNA. In this way, it has been achieved “For the first time preparing and knowing the structure of a double propeller molecule of DNA that incorporates silver ions inside“
In this system, traditional hydrogen bonds of Watson-Crick They have been replaced by coordination links to silver ions, which gives rise to a great-stability DNA-silver hybrid. The results have also demonstrated that these modified DNA molecules can “transport silver ions inside without altering the shape of the double propeller of natural DNA“
To carry out this research work, they have been used Vanguardia characterization techniques Like resonance High resolution nuclear magneticsX-ray dispersion on the DNA-plague molecule studied and computational calculations using the UGR albaicin supercomputing resources.
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