Two-dimensional condensation of pyrimidine oligonucleotides during their self-assemblies at mercury based surfaces

For the first time it is shown that homopyrimidine oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) adsorbed at mercury or amalgam electrode surface can condensate upon applying negative potentials (around −1.35 V vs. Ag/AgCl/3M KCl). This 2D condensation resulted in formation of capacitance pits on the C–E curves resembling those observed earlier with monomeric nucleic acid bases, nucleosides and nucleotides. Differences in behavior of the condensed layers of dT30 and dC30 ODNs, reflecting different physico-chemical and electrochemical properties of thymine and cytosine, were observed. Formation of the ODN condensed film involved reorientation of the oligonucleotide molecules firmly adsorbed at the electrode and took place even in the absence of any ODN in the bulk of solution. Homopurine ODNs did not form these two-dimensional (2D) condensed monolayers under the same conditions. A preliminary thermodynamic analysis of the condensed ODN layers is presented.