Long double-stranded (ds) RNA is emerging as a novel alternative to chemical and genetically-modified insect and fungal management strategies. The ability to produce large quantities of dsRNA in either bacterial systems, by in vitro transcription, in cell-free systems or in planta for RNA interference applications has generated significant demand for the development and application of analytical tools for analysis of dsRNA.*
In their article “Analysis of long dsRNA produced in vitro and in vivo using atomic force microscopy in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase HPLC” Alison O. Nwokeoji, Sandip Kumar, Peter M. Kilby, David E. Portwood, Jamie K. Hobbs and Mark J. Dickman have utilised atomic force microscopy (AFM) in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) to provide novel insight into dsRNA for RNAi applications.*
The AFM analysis enabled direct structural characterisation of the A-form duplex dsRNA and accurate determination of the dsRNA duplex length.*
The work presented in this study demonstrates the ability of AFM in conjunction with IP RP HPLC to rapidly assess sample heterogeneity and provide important structural information regarding dsRNA.*
For the high resolution images presented in Fig. 1(A, B) and 2(B) in the article NanoWorld Ultra-Short Cantilevers USC-F1.2-k0.15 with a High Density Carbon tip (nominal values: tip radius 10 nm, cantilever length 7 μm, stiffness 0.15 N m−1, resonant frequency 1200 kHz in air) were tuned to 600–650 kHz, oscillated at a free amplitude of <30 mV and scanned at a rate of 0.4–1.0 μm s−1,to visualize the dsRNA and dsDNA grooves.*
Fig. 1 A and B from “Analysis of long dsRNA produced in vitro and in vivo using atomic force microscopy in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase HPLC” by Alison O. Nwokeoji et al. :
Analysis of dsRNA monomers, multimers and higher order assemblies under non-denaturing conditions. Non-denaturing gel electrophoretograms (A) in vivo synthesised dsRNA (521 bp and 698 bp) (B) in vitro synthesised dsRNA (504 bp). Each dsRNA sample was run in duplicate. The proposed dsRNA multimers or higher order assemblies with reduced electrophoretic mobility are highlighted above the corresponding dsRNA main band.
*Alison O. Nwokeoji, Sandip Kumar,Peter M. Kilby, David E. Portwood, Jamie K. Hobbs and Mark J. Dickman
Analysis of long dsRNA produced in vitro and in vivo using atomic force microscopy in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase HPLC
Analyst, 2019,144, 4985
DOI: 10.1039/c9an00954j
Please follow this external link for the full article: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/an/c9an00954j
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