Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 11:45 AM
5th Floor A (Greenville Hyatt Regency Hotel)
171

Using DNA Sequence Programmability in Nanoscale Conjugated Polymer Formation

Bhaskar Datta and Gary B. Schuster. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

Oligomers consisting of repeating aniline (PANI) or 4-aminobiphenyl (PAB) units having the properties of conducting polymers conjoined to the DNA were prepared by the reaction of horse radish peroxidase (HRP) and H2O2 with DNA having the appropriate monomers aligned within the major groove. These oligomers exhibit the spectral and chemical properties typical of para-linked polyanilines. This method of preparation enables utilization of the unique self-recognizing properties and sequence programmability of DNA to create tailored oligomers whose dimensions can be controlled. The programmable nature of the current approach was further demonstrated experimentally by preparation of PAB oligomers from alternating benzene and aniline monomers. The conjugated oligomers are shown to form in an intra-strand fashion and their composition is confirmed by mass spectrometry. The ability of the current technique to create conjugated oligomers that are part of other DNA architectures such as three-way junctions is also demonstrated. In addition, the possibility of using cleavable linkers to release the conjugated oligomers from the DNA template is explored. Conjoined conducting polymers carrying the sequence information of DNA may have applicability as nanowires.