Date/Time
Date(s) - 22/10/2020
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Please contact Linda Spruce – sprucel@mcmaster.ca or Katherine Bujold – bujoldk@mcmaster.ca for the Zoom link and password.

Title: “Functional DNA and gold nanoparticles”. 

Abstract: DNA is a programmable polyanion withstrong affinity towards metal species. This talk will cover the followingtopics. 1) In vitro selection of metal-specific DNAzymes. Using various metalions as cofactors, we isolated a suite of new DNAzymes that can selectivelydetect them. In particular, we used a single-site modification strategy tointroduce non-natural metal binding ligands. 2) Adsorption of DNA by goldnanoparticles and the conjugation of DNA have been explored including the changeof salt, pH and temperature. 3) Based on this understanding, we have criticallyevaluated the label-free colorimetric biosensors based on gold nanoparticlesand aptamers.