| AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI1-WeM |
| Session: | Biomolecules at Interfaces |
| Presenter: | C. Howell, University of Heidelberg and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany |
| Authors: | C. Howell, University of Heidelberg and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany P. Koelsch, University of Heidelberg and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Films of thymine, adenine and cytosine single-stranded DNA (homo-oligonucleotides) immobilized on gold were characterized in liquid under various conditions using broadband sum-frequency-generation (SFG) spectroscopy. Spectra of the three film types under these in situ conditions in the C-H stretching region were significantly different than those obtained in air and appeared to show unique contributions based on the nucleobase composition of the film. This could be the result of base-specific hydration differences for these films. Data in air showed no identifiable unique base contributions in this region; however, significant differences in peak intensities among the three film types were evident in the spectra. These differences appeared to correlate with the degree of order of the films, suggesting that SFG spectroscopy can be useful for detecting overall order in these types of systems. Hybridization behavior of these systems was also studied, with results showing detectable differences between hybridized and unhybridized films. These results contribute to the understanding of DNA films and help to establish a foundation for the investigation of more complex biomolecules in situ using SFG spectroscopy.