Studying the Interactions between DNA and Metal Complexes using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

The interactions between DNA and various transition-metal complexes were characterized using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as the signal enhancer, shifts and intensity changes in the vibrational peaks of the metal complexes were used to characterize the interactions. Water-soluble zinc and nickel metal complexes with different ligands in octahedral or square planar geometries were used. Various quadruplex and duplex DNA sequences were added to these solutions at different concentrations to characterize the interactions with the metal complexes. Previous studies showed that the DNA and metal complexes interact, and changes in vibrational peak intensity and position for the metal complexes were used to determine the nature of the interaction. The goal of this study is to develop another method of biodetection for DNA or targeted drug delivery using these metal complexes