TITLE:
A Dual Effect of Au-Nanoparticles on Nucleic Acid Cholesteric Liquid-Crystalline Particles
AUTHORS:
Yuri M. Yevdokimov, Sergey G. Skuridin, Victor I. Salyanov, Vladimir I. Popenko, Victor M. Rudoy, Ol, ga V. Dement′eva, Eleonora V. Shtykova
KEYWORDS:
Double-Stranded Nucleic Acids, Gold Nanoparticles, Nucleic Acid Liquid-Crystalline Dispersions, Circular Dichroism, Structure of Lyotropic Liquid Crystals of (Bio)Polymers, Genotoxity of Nanoparticles
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology,
Vol.2 No.4,
October
11,
2011
ABSTRACT: Au-nanoparticles (size about 2 nm, but not 5 or 15 nm) are capable of effectively incorporating into quasinematic layers of particles of cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersion formed by double-stranded nucleic acid molecules of various families (DNA and poly(I)xpoly(C)). This Au-size-dependent process is accompanied by a decrease in amplitudes of abnormal bands in the CD spectra specific to initial cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersions and simultaneously by an appearance of plasmon resonance band in visible absorption spectrum. The study of properties of particles of cholesteric liquid-crystalline dispersion treated with Au-nanoparticles by means of various physico-chemical methods demonstrates that incorporation of Au-nanoparticles into quasinematic layers of these particles results in two effects: i) it facilitates reorganization of the spatial cholesteric structure of particles, and ii) it induces the formation of Au-clusters in the content of particles. It is not excluded that these effects represent a possible reason for genotoxicity of Au-nanopar- ticles.