Prof. Irena Drevenšek Olenik: Self-assembly of guanosine derivatives in solution and on surfaces

Pred predavanjem vse udeležence vabimo na čaj!

Povzetek:

     Self-assembly of guanosine derivatives in solution and on surfaces   

     Prof. Irena Drevenšek Olenik, Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za matematiko in fiziko & Institut Jožef Stefan

Guanosine and guanine-rich oligonucleotides are unique among the DNA constituents for their propensity to form molecular structures, which are stabilized by non-Watson-Crick base pairing. These structures, denoted as G-quadruplexes or G4-DNA, play a vital role in stabilization of the telomeric ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Moreover, guanine also has a low ionization potential due to which it plays a key role in electrical conductivity of DNA-based materials. Consequently, learning how to control guanosine self-assembly in different systems is very prospective for fabrication of functional architectures that hold great potential for applications in nanotechnology and medicine. I will present and discuss the results of our research work on self-assembly of guanosine mononucleotides, lipophilic guanosine derivatives and guanosine-rich oligonucleotides in aqueous solutions, at air-water interface and on solid substrates.