Miniemulsion droplets as single molecule nanoreactors for polymerase chain reaction

Biomacromolecules. 2005 Jul-Aug;6(4):1824-8. doi: 10.1021/bm050084+.

Abstract

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was successfully carried out inside stable and narrowly distributed water-in-oil nanodroplets with a size of 100-300 nm in diameter. The droplets were obtained by the miniemulsion process. Each aqueous droplet serves as a single nanoreactor for the PCR. It was found that the size of the droplets highly depends on the sonication parameters (i.e., time and amplitude) and that these parameters have a great influence on the final concentration of the PCR product. The parameters were chosen that way that conditions for single molecule chemistry were obtained, since the 3D-space is compartimentalized in small nanoreactors in each of which the same reaction takes place in a highly parallel fashion on every single DNA molecule.

MeSH terms

  • Bioreactors
  • Emulsions*
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Nanotechnology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Surface-Active Agents

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Surface-Active Agents