Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System

Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) have long been used for the facile and rapid extraction of biomolecules of interest. Selective partitioning of DNA is useful for nucleic acid purification and in the design of novel sensing technologies. This paper investigates the partitioning of a plasmid within a...

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Main Authors: Tasdiq Ahmed, Adya Verma, Alexandra T. Patterson, Mark P. Styczynski, Shuichi Takayama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Chemistry
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/6/6/102
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author Tasdiq Ahmed
Adya Verma
Alexandra T. Patterson
Mark P. Styczynski
Shuichi Takayama
author_facet Tasdiq Ahmed
Adya Verma
Alexandra T. Patterson
Mark P. Styczynski
Shuichi Takayama
author_sort Tasdiq Ahmed
collection DOAJ
description Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) have long been used for the facile and rapid extraction of biomolecules of interest. Selective partitioning of DNA is useful for nucleic acid purification and in the design of novel sensing technologies. This paper investigates the partitioning of a plasmid within a poorly understood ATPS comprising the polymers poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 35 kDa and Ficoll 400 kDa. The focus is placed on dissecting the compositional effects of the ATPS—that is, whether set concentrations of physiological ions or the polymers themselves can tune DNA phase preference and strength of partitioning. The work here uncovers the antagonistic effects of magnesium and ammonium ions, as well as the role that phase-forming polymer partitioning plays in plasmid enrichment. Testing the ions in conjunction with different ATPS formulations highlights the complexity of the system at hand, prompting the exploration of DNA’s conformational changes in response to polymer and salt presence. The work presented here offers multiple optimization parameters for downstream applications of PEG–Ficoll ATPSs, such as in vitro transcription/translation-based biosensing, in which performance is heavily dependent upon nucleic acid partitioning.
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spelling doaj-art-b9436741c87c4e2ea9b6124e39bc99222025-08-20T02:53:33ZengMDPI AGChemistry2624-85492024-12-01661680169110.3390/chemistry6060102Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase SystemTasdiq Ahmed0Adya Verma1Alexandra T. Patterson2Mark P. Styczynski3Shuichi Takayama4Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAWallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USASchool of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USASchool of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAWallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAAqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) have long been used for the facile and rapid extraction of biomolecules of interest. Selective partitioning of DNA is useful for nucleic acid purification and in the design of novel sensing technologies. This paper investigates the partitioning of a plasmid within a poorly understood ATPS comprising the polymers poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 35 kDa and Ficoll 400 kDa. The focus is placed on dissecting the compositional effects of the ATPS—that is, whether set concentrations of physiological ions or the polymers themselves can tune DNA phase preference and strength of partitioning. The work here uncovers the antagonistic effects of magnesium and ammonium ions, as well as the role that phase-forming polymer partitioning plays in plasmid enrichment. Testing the ions in conjunction with different ATPS formulations highlights the complexity of the system at hand, prompting the exploration of DNA’s conformational changes in response to polymer and salt presence. The work presented here offers multiple optimization parameters for downstream applications of PEG–Ficoll ATPSs, such as in vitro transcription/translation-based biosensing, in which performance is heavily dependent upon nucleic acid partitioning.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/6/6/102aqueous two-phase systemnucleic acidbiomolecule partitioningphysiological ions
spellingShingle Tasdiq Ahmed
Adya Verma
Alexandra T. Patterson
Mark P. Styczynski
Shuichi Takayama
Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
Chemistry
aqueous two-phase system
nucleic acid
biomolecule partitioning
physiological ions
title Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
title_full Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
title_fullStr Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
title_full_unstemmed Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
title_short Compositional Dependence of DNA Partitioning in a Poly(Ethylene Glycol)–Ficoll Aqueous Two-Phase System
title_sort compositional dependence of dna partitioning in a poly ethylene glycol ficoll aqueous two phase system
topic aqueous two-phase system
nucleic acid
biomolecule partitioning
physiological ions
url https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/6/6/102
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