Method for gold deposition

• US 20040033626A1
• Filed: 08/11/2003
• Published: 02/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Erez Braun, Uri S. Sivan, Yoav Eichen
• Original Assignee: Erez Braun, Uri S. Sivan, Yoav Eichen
• Inventors: Braun, Erez, Eichen, Yoav, Sivan, Uri S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,851,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 436/518
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6834 Enzymatic or biochemical coupling of nucleic acids to a solid phase
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2527/127 the enzyme inhibitor or activator used
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/30 Staining; Impregnating ; Fixation; Dehydration; Multistep processes for preparing samples of tissue, cell or nucleic acid material and the like for analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/5438 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/585 with a particulate label, e.g. coloured latex

Abstract

A method for depositing gold on a substrate is provided. By this aspect, nucleation centers are bound, deposited or formed at one or more sites on the substrate, the substrate is then contacted with a treatment composition which comprises soluble gold-providing agent from which gold is deposited onto a nucleation center to yield gold metal deposits. The method of the invention may be used for a variety of image enhancing techniques as well as diagnostic and analyte detection techniques.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a nucleic acid having at least two portions comprising:

(a) contacting the nucleic acid with a substrate having oligonucleotides attached thereto, the oligonucleotides being located between a pair of electrodes, the oligonucleotides having a sequence complementary to a first portion of the sequence of said nucleic acid, the contacting taking place under conditions effective to allow hybridization of the oligonucleotides on the substrate with said nucleic acid;

(b) contacting said nucleic acid bound to the substrate with a first type of particle, the particles being made of a material which can conduct electricity, the particles having an oligonucleotide with a sequence complementary to a second portion of the sequence of said nucleic acid, the contacting taking place under conditions effective to allow hybridization of the oligonucleotides on the particles with said nucleic acid; and

(c) detecting a change in conductivity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate has a plurality of pairs of electrodes located on it in an array to allow for the detection of multiple different nucleic acids, each of the pairs of electrodes having a type of oligonucleotides attached to the substrate between them.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the nanoparticles are made of gold.