Theses and Dissertations Collection

The overall goal of this thesis is to present designed DNA circuits for amplification and localized detection plus progress toward expanding DNA circuits with aptamers’ unique recognition ability. DNA is an attractive molecule in nanotechnology to construct nanodevices, nanostructures and dynamic circuits. DNA circuits are designed dynamic DNA-based molecular machines with diverse biotechnological applications, such as detection of DNA analytes and signal amplification. We used DNA circuits to make release and detector particles. We developed a label-free strategy to report DNA circuits using G-rich sequence and thioflavin-T (TFT) dye. DNA aptamers can evolve using systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process. DNA aptamers are molecular recognition elements made of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) with the potential to interact with proteins, small molecules, viruses and even cells. We selected DNA aptamers against epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) and Drosophila C virus (DCV). This thesis includes five original research articles and one review.