20.500.12556/RUL-186166 Complex pretransitional solution dynamics and LC behaviour of $\mathrm{d(G_4C_2)}$ and $\mathrm{d(G_4C_2)_4}$ DNA sequences Beyond the well-known double-helix structure, guanine-rich DNA sequences can form higher-order structures, known as DNA quadruplexes. These structures play an important role in gene regulation and are associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although the LC phases of double-stranded DNA have been extensively studied, the self-assembly and LC behaviour of DNA quadruplexes remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the DNA sequences d(G$_4$C$_2$) and d(G$_4$C$_2$)$_4$, which exhibit supramolecular assembly. The focus of our study was to examine the effect of DNA concentration on the dynamics of DNA quadruplexes in the pretransitional I $\to$ LC region and to assess their ability to form LC phases at higher concentrations – conditions that better represent physiological environments. Measurements were performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and polarisation optical microscopy (POM). DLS was employed to study the dynamics of DNA quadruplexes in the pretransitional region, while POM was used to identify mesophases at higher concentrations. Our results indicate that the d(G$_4$C$_2$) and d(G$_4$C$_2$)$_4$ sequences behave like typical polyelectrolytes and exhibit the potential to form LC phases. liquid crystals polarised optical microscopy dynamic light scattering DNA DNA-quadruplexes polyelectrolytes chromonics tekoči kristali polarizacijska optična mikroskopija dinamično sipanje svetlobe DNK DNK kvadrupleksi polielektroliti true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-08-28 07:49:47 2026-08-28 07:49:49 2026-08-29 04:40:27 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 123-130 iss. 1 Vol. 53 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 538.9 0267-8292 10.1080/02678292.2026.2622530 269188355 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02678292.2026.2622530 1 dd39571c-a2a3-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=245277 Complex_pretransitional_solution_dynamics_and_LC_behaviour_of_d_G4C2__and_d_G4C2_4_DNA_sequences.pdf Complex_pretransitional_solution_dynamics_and_LC_behaviour_of_d_G4C2__and_d_G4C2_4_DNA_sequences.pdf 1 5AA49EFB5BF005361A6BE4AFE01D9EF0 93868a12d7280eb920351fc8cb3e252562de23c87d1f3128ac0ec12573344c44 55e275c7-a2a4-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=245278 Fakulteta za matematiko in fiziko 0 0 0