Nucleic Acid Structure and Adsorption Properties

The main parameters affecting the adsorption process of a given molecule in solution involve its size, shape, polarity, and chemical structure. 

DNA is a structurally polymorphic macromolecule which, depending on nucleotide sequence and environmental conditions, can adopt a variety of conformations. The double helical structure of DNA (dsDNA) consists of two strands, each of them on the outside of the double helix and formed by alternating phosphate and pentose groups in which phosphodiester bridges provide the covalent continuity. The two chains of the double helix are held 

Beside the DNA molecule and the carbon substrate, the solvent, normally water, and in particular the ionic strength, pH and the nature of the solutes, play an important role in the adsorption process, mainly in the stabilization of the adsorbed molecule on the substrate. 

DNA adsorption properties were first studied using a variety of solid supports for classical analysis methods including Southern and Northern transfers, dot-blotting, colony hybridization and plaque-lifts [31,32]. Studies of the interactions between nucleic acids and nitrocellulose revealed that molecular weight, finite macromolecular conformation, ionic forces and weaker forces of attraction all play a role. DNA is retained on nitrocellulose only in 

Although DNA has been widely attached onto carbonaceous materials, the underlying mechanism of adsorption has not been fully clarified. The next section focuses on the different strategies for the adsorption of nucleic acid (ssDNA, dsDNA, ODN and DNA bases) on carbon-based material. 

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