Viscoelastic and Thermoreversible Networks Crosslinked by Non-covalent Interactions Between "Clickable" Nucleic Acids Oligomers and DNA.

ABSTRACT: An approach to efficient and scalable production of oligonucleotide-based gel networks is presented. Specifically, a new class of xenonucleic acid (XNA) synthesized through a scalable and efficient thiol-ene polymerization mechanism, "Clickable" Nucleic Acids (CNAs), were conjugated to a multifunctional poly(ethylene glycol), PEG. In the presence of complementary single stranded DNA (ssDNA), the macromolecular conjugate assembled into a crosslinked 3D gel capable of achieving storage moduli on the order of 1 kPa. Binding studies between the PEG-CNA macromolecule and complementary ssDNA indicate that crosslinking is due to the CNA/DNA interaction. Gel formation was specific to the base sequence and length of the ssDNA crosslinker. The gels were fully thermoreversible, completely melting at

SUBMITTER: Anderson AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8729761 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature