Freezing‐directed Stretching and Alignment of DNA Oligonucleotides

Most single‐stranded DNA oligonucleotides are random coils with persistence length below 1 nm. So far, no good methods are available to stretch oligonucleotides. We herein communicate that freezing can stretch DNA as confirmed using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), thiazole orange staining, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Lateral inter‐strand interactions are critical, and the stretched DNA oligonucleotides are aligned. This work also provides a set of methods for studying frozen oligonucleotides. Upon freezing, DNA oligonucleotides are readily adsorbed onto various nanomaterials including gold nanoparticles, graphene oxide, iron oxide and WS2 via the thermodynamically most stable conformation, leading to more stable conjugates.

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