Nucleic acid nanotechnology

Abstract:

The term 'photonics' describes a technology whereby data transmission and processing occurs largely or entirely by means of photons. Photonic crystals are microstructured materials in which the dielectric constant is periodically modulated on a length scale comparable to the desired wavelength of operation. Multiple interference between waves scattered from each unit cell of the structure may open a 'photonic bandgap'--a range of frequencies, analogous to the electronic bandgap of a semiconductor, within which no propagating electromagnetic modes exist. Numerous device principles that exploit this property have been identified. Considerable progress has now been made in constructing two-dimensional structures using conventional lithography, but the fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystal structures for the visible spectrum remains a considerable challenge. Here we describe a technique--three-dimensional holographic lithography--that is well suited to the production of three-dimensional structures with sub-micrometre periodicity. With this technique we have made microperiodic polymeric structures, and we have used these as templates to create complementary structures with higher refractive-index contrast.

Abstract:

We report measurements of the spin relaxation time (Tln) for nuclei in the potential well confining a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system at a single GaAs-GaAlAs heterojunction. At low temperatures nuclear spin relaxation is dominated by electron-nuclear spin scattering: we find that Tln displays sharp maxima at incompressible states throughout the v = 2/3 hierarchy of the fractional quantum Hall effect. This behaviour is consistent with the existence of low-energy spin excitations only where the electron system is compressible. Our measurements also provide evidence for a gap in the spin excitation spectrum at ν = 1/2 .

Abstract:

The fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystal structures with sub-micron periodicity was performed by holographic lithography. The photonic crystals of titanium dioxide and polymeric materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and optical diffraction measurements. The interference pattern generated at the intersection of four beams from a neodymium laser was employed for the exposure of the photoresist.

Abstract:

Xer site-specific recombination at the psi site from plasmid pSC101 displays topological selectivity, such that recombination normally occurs only between directly repeated sites on the same circular DNA molecule. This intramolecular selectivity is important for the biological role of psi, and is imposed by accessory proteins PepA and ArcA acting at accessory DNA sequences adjacent to the core recombination site. Here we show that the selectivity for intramolecular recombination at psi can be bypassed in multiply interlinked catenanes. Xer site-specific recombination occurred relatively efficiently between antiparallel psi sites located on separate rings of right-handed torus catenanes containing six or more nodes. This recombination introduced one additional node into the catenanes. Antiparallel sites on four-noded right-handed catenanes, the normal product of Xer recombination at psi, were not recombined efficiently. Furthermore, parallel psi sites on right-handed torus catenanes were not substrates for Xer recombination. These findings support a model in which psi sites are plectonemically interwrapped, trapping a precise number of supercoils that are converted to four catenation nodes by Xer strand exchange.