posted on 2004-05-18, 00:00authored byChristian Symietz, Marc Schneider, Gerald Brezesinski, Helmuth Möhwald
The interaction of DNA with other DNA and with charged interfaces is of utmost importance
for understanding nonviral transfection and DNA diagnostics with optimized chips. This can be studied
in detail using Langmuir monolayers of cationic lipids as soft surface of a DNA containing subphase.
The positional order of the lipid and the DNA sublattices can be studied by synchrotron X-ray diffraction
under continuous variation of parameters such as molecular density or surface pressure. It is shown
that DNA binding condenses the membrane surface, and the resulting structure is determined by the
interplay of DNA−lipid and DNA−DNA interactions.