Nanoscale hydration dynamics of DNA-lipid blend dry films: DNA-size dependency

• Published in: Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP Vol. 18; no. 46; pp. 31664 - 31669
• Main Authors: Shimobayashi, S. F, Hishida, M, Kurimura, T, Ichikawa, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Blends; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA - chemistry; Drying; Dynamics; Hydration; Intervals; Lipid Bilayers - chemistry; Lipids; Nanostructure; Particle Size; Phosphatidylcholines - chemistry; Scattering, Small Angle; Water - chemistry; X-Ray Diffraction
• ISSN: 1463-9076; 1463-9084
• DOI: 10.1039/c6cp06305e

In this study, nanoscale hydration dynamics of DNA-lipid blend dry films are investigated via small angle X-ray diffraction. Compared to the hydration of lipid films, fragmented short DNA strands and counterions in stacked lipid layers dramatically accelerate both the relaxation of the lamellar distance to a metastable interval and the subsequent peeling-off process of lipid bilayers. Moreover, genome-sized long DNA and counterions accelerate the relaxation process, but suppress the peeling-off process and simultaneously induce a damped-oscillation of the lamellar interval; this is probably due to the viscoelastic properties of the entangled long DNA dissolved in hydrated water between the stacked lipid bilayers. This study's findings can pave the way for producing cell-sized liposomes, which efficiently encapsulate any arbitrary sized DNA through natural swelling. The hydration dynamics of dry DNA-lipid films are dependent on the doped molecules and their sizes.