Effect of Antifouling Dendrimers and Dendrimer-Entrapped Gold Nanoparticles on the Improvement of Polymerase Chain Reactions

摘要

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become a fundamental technique in molecular biology.However,the specificity of PCR does not always match its remarkable sensitivity.Development of suitable PCR additives to enhance the PCR efficiency and specificity and understanding the enhancing mechanism still remain great challenges.We report the use of generation 5 (G5) poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer and dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles (Au DENPs) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties and/or acetyl groups as a novel class of enhancers to improve the PCR specificity and efficiency.We show that dendrimers with the entrapment of Au NPs seem to more effectively to enhance the PCR specificity and efficiency.In addition,the modification of antifouling PEG significantly lowers the optimization capability of the corresponding dendrimers,while this inhibition effect can be compromised by the entrapment of Au NPs.The developed dendrimer derivatives or nanocomposites may be used as highly efficient PCR additives for enhancing different PCR systems.