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FUNCTIONALIZING GOLD NANOPARTICLES WITH A DNA APTAMER FOR BIOSENSING 25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D3

dc.contributor.authorHansson, Benjamin
dc.contributor.copyright-releaseNot Applicable
dc.contributor.degreeMaster of Science
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Physics & Atmospheric Science
dc.contributor.ethics-approvalNot Applicable
dc.contributor.external-examinern/a
dc.contributor.manuscriptsNot Applicable
dc.contributor.thesis-readerLaurent Kreplak
dc.contributor.thesis-readerAlan Fine
dc.contributor.thesis-readerKimberley Hall
dc.contributor.thesis-supervisorKevin Hewitt
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-29T17:39:00Z
dc.date.available2025-05-29T17:39:00Z
dc.date.defence2025-05-06
dc.date.issued2025-05-29
dc.description.abstractVitamin D influences over 400 processes in the human body and its deficiency is associated with several diseases such as uterine fibroids. Accessible point-of-need tools are required to detect 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3), a Vitamin D biomarker. This thesis investigated conjugation methods for the specific, yet structurally complex 25(OH)D3 aptamer, VDBA14, to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), common biosensor transducers. Initial approaches using salt-aging, low pH, and freeze conjugation, evaluated with UV-Vis, fluorescence, and salt stability assays, were ineffective due to poor aptamer conjugation and the resulting AuNP aggregation. A promising development was the inclusion of an 18atom hexa-ethyleneglycol spacer between the aptamer and disulphide linker. Freeze conjugation of the modified aptamer improved AuNP stability, with conjugation confirmed by UV-Vis redshift and DNA FT-IR bands. Future experiments are required to demonstrate conjugation without destabilizing AuNPs. This work represents a foundation for functionalizing AuNPs with VDBA14, and the first step towards point-of-need 25(OH)D3 biosensors.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/85156
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectGold Nanoparticles
dc.subjectDNA Aptamers
dc.subjectVitamin D
dc.subjectBiosensing
dc.titleFUNCTIONALIZING GOLD NANOPARTICLES WITH A DNA APTAMER FOR BIOSENSING 25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D3

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