Chemistry Colloquium | Click Chemistry Assisted Characterization of DNA G-quadruplex Structures at the Single-Molecule Level, March 25

Dr.Hanbin Mao

The host is: Chen Jixin

Ohio University’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Colloquium Series Dr. Hanbin Mao on “Click Chemistry Assisted Characterization of DNA G-quadruplex Structures at the Single-Molecule Level”, on Monday, March 25, at 4:10 p.m. in Clippinger Laboratories 194.

Mao is Professor with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Kent State University.

Abstract: Secondary nucleic acid structures with double-helical or tetraplex conformations are abundant inside cells.  These structures can interfere with motor enzymes such as polymerases and helicases that process nucleic acids.  The interaction between nucleic acid structures and enzymes can be understood if mechanical stabilities of the former are directly compared to the maximal force generated by motor enzymes.  In our lab, we used optical tweezers to evaluate this interaction from mechanical perspectives. Using click chemistry modifications, mechanical stabilities of DNA G-quadruplex were directly evaluated at different angles.  We found that structural stability and folding kinetics of DNA G-quadruplex are anisotropic.  The same anisotropy was observed when G-quadruplex structures are bound by small molecule ligands.  These results not only elucidate ligand-DNA interactions from mechanical perspectives, they also provide a possibility to screen ligands based on mechanical affinity, which is different from the conventional screening using chemical affinities.