Graduation Semester and Year

2021

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Department

Materials Science and Engineering

First Advisor

Jin Seong Koh

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to establish a rapid, robust, and reproducible procedure to controllably assemble DNA-functionalized Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) into satellite-shaped nanostructures using sequence-specific DNA hybridization. A target DNA strand with COVID-19 sequence (t-DNA) is used as a bridge to connect a capture DNA functionalized on a 50nm gold nanoparticle (C-AuNP) and a probe DNA functionalized on a 30nm nanoparticle (P-AuNP), creating C-AuNP/t-DNA/P-AuNP conjugates. The C-DNA is complementary to a portion of t-DNA, and P-DNA is complementary to the other portion of t-DNA. The parameters that affect the conjugate formation, including hybridization buffer strength, hybridization temperature, and DNA lengths, have been studied to increase the efficiency of the process. It is concluded that the hybridization buffer containing 0.6M NaCl at 50 degrees Celcius consistently formed the nanostructures of C-AuNP/t-DNA/P-AuNP conjugates. The hybridization time for each of C-AuNP/t-DNA and P-AuNP/t-DNA hybridization was 10 minutes. The optimum nanosatellite formations were obtained when 50 nm AuNPs were functionalized with a mixture of 48-base C-DNA and 18-base spacer DNA and 30 nm AuNPs were functionalized with a mixture of 46-base P-DNA and 18-base spacer DNA. This sequence-specific controlled formation of nanosatellite structures can be potentially implemented into many fields, such as detection of DNA and RNA of specific pathogens, food safety, and clinical and forensic research.

Keywords

Nanoparticle, DNA functionalize nanoparticles, Self assembled monolayers, SEM images, Spacer DNA

Disciplines

Engineering | Materials Science and Engineering

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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