| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeA |
| Session: | Nucleic Acid Sequencing and Technology |
| Presenter: | A. Chilkoti, Duke University |
| Authors: | A. Chilkoti, Duke University D. Chow, Duke University S. Zauscher, Duke University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
We demonstrate a technique to synthesize DNA homopolymers on a surface using surface-initiated enzymatic polymerization (SIEP) with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdTase), an enzyme that repetitively adds mononucleotides to the 3’ end of oligonucleotides. The thickness of the synthesized DNA layer was found to depend on the deoxymononucleotide monomer, in the order of dATP > dTTP >> dGTP - dCTP. In addition, the composition and the surface density of oligonucleotide initiators were also important in controlling the extent of DNA polymerization. Poly(dTTP) synthesized by SIEP was capable of binding to antibodies specific to oligomers of dTTP, indicating that the DNA homolayer is fully functional. TdTase-mediated SIEP can also be used to grow spatially defined three-dimensional DNA structures by soft-lithography and by E-beam nanolithography, and is a new tool for bioinspired fabrication at the micro- and nano-scale.