Phthalocyanine Dimerization-Based Molecular Beacons Using Near-IR Fluorescence

Programmed nanoparticle aggregation using molecular beacons.

Nucleic acids can be used as robust building blocks or scaffolds for new nanoarchitectures. The potential of nucleic acids has been demonstrated with the DNA-based construction of a variety of shapes including, for example, an incredible range of two-dimensional patterns, three-dimensional crystals, and even containers with lids that can be opened. DNA scaffolds can be additionally functionaliz...

Using molecular beacons as a sensitive fluorescence assay for enzymatic cleavage of single-stranded DNA.

Traditional methods to assay enzymatic cleavage of DNA are discontinuous and time consuming. In contrast, recently developed fluorescence methods are continuous and convenient. However, no fluorescence method has been developed for single-stranded DNA digestion. Here we introduce a novel method, based on molecular beacons, to assay single-stranded DNA cleavage by single strand-specific nuclease...

Molecular beacons: trial of a fluorescence-based solution hybridization technique for ecological studies with ruminal bacteria.

Molecular beacons are fluorescent probes developed for solution rather than membrane hybridization. We have investigated the utility of these probes to study rumen microbial ecology. Two cellulolytic species, Ruminococcus albus and Fibrobacter succinogenes, were tested. Membrane and solution hybridizations gave similar results in competition experiments with cocultures of R. albus 8 and F. succ...

Inventing Molecular Beacons

Multiplexed Analysis Using Time-Resolved Near-IR Fluorescence for the Detection of Genomic Material

While fluorescence continues to be an important tool in genomics, new challenges are being encountered due to increased efforts toward miniaturization reducing detection volumes and the need for screening multiple targets simultaneously. We have initiated work on developing time-resolved near-IR fluorescence as an additional tool for the multiplexed analyses of DNA, either for sequencing or mut...