Visible-Light Triggered Templated Ligation on Surface Using Furan-Modified PNAs

Oligonucleotide-templated reactions are frequently exploited for target detection in biosensors and for the construction of DNA-based materials and probes in nanotechnology. Translation of the specifically used template chemistry from solution to surfaces, with the final aim of achieving highly selective high-throughput systems, has been difficult to reach and poorly explored. Here, we show the first example of a visible light-triggered templated ligation on a surface, employing furan-modified peptide nucleic acids (PNAs). Tailored photo-oxidation of the pro-reactive furan moiety is ensured by the simultaneous introduction of a weak photosensitizer as well as a nucleophilic moiety in the reacting PNA strand. This allows a localized production of singlet oxygen for furan activation, which is not affected by probe dilution or reducing conditions. White light irradiation in combination with recognition of a short 22mer oligo sequence that functions as a template, allows sensitive detection of nucleic acid targets in a 96 well plate format.