No abstract

Mid-infrared (MIR) light can effectively regulate the conformation of biological macromolecules such as DNA and proteins. However, the role of MIR light in DNA replication is still unclear. Here, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a DNA replication model in vitro, we investigated the quantum effect of MIR light (5.6 μm) on DNA replication. We discovered that the vibrational strong coupling between MIR photons and carbonyl groups can significantly affect the denaturation process of PCR by promoting double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) unwinding and ultimately improve the efficiency of PCR. The quantum effect of MIR photons depends on both the irradiation power and the dsDNA length, interestingly, which can be further improved when replacing H 2 O with deuterium oxide (D 2 O), further indicating a nonthermal quantum effect due to the coherent coupling of vibrational DNA molecules. These results provide a new perspective for the roles of MIR photons in biochemical reactions while showing potential biomedical applications of MIR light.

No abstract

No abstract