INOR 577 |
| Aptamers are single-stranded nucleic acids that act like antibodies by binding with high affinity and specificity to a target molecule. Aptamers have the advantages of being uniformly synthesized and having increased stability in comparison to antibodies making them attractive building blocks for use in sensors. The high affinity of DNA and RNA aptamers for their target molecules is related to the conformations they attain upon folding. Current methods of determining aptamer conformations include NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The manner of their folding is not yet understood, and the development of a relatively fast and simple technique to investigate this intrinsic property of aptamers could be useful in the development of aptasensors. When bound to aromatic ligands, square planar platinum(II) complexes (general structure shown below) have been found to exhibit excimer and monomer emission. The development of such complexes for their use as aptamer structural probes will be discussed.
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Characterization and Applications of Coordination Compounds
7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster
Sci-Mix
Division of Inorganic Chemistry |
