Watching a Single Enzyme at Work Using Single-Molecule Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering and DNA Origami-Based Plasmonic Antennas.

Kanehira, Yuya; Kogikoski, Sergio; Titov, Evgenii; Tapio, Kosti; Mostafa, Amr; Bald, Ilko · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The detection of a single-enzyme catalytic reaction by surfaced-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is presented by utilizing DNA origami-based plasmonic antennas. A single horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was accommodated on a DNA origami nanofork plasmonic antenna (DONA) containing gold nanoparticles, enabling the tracing of single-molecule SERS signals during the peroxide reduction reaction. This allows monitoring of the structure of a single enzymatic catalytic center and products under suitable liquid conditions. Herein, we demonstrate the chemical changes of HRP and the appearance of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), which works as a hydrogen donor before and after the catalytic reaction. The results show that the iron in HRP adopts Fe<sup>4+</sup> and low spin states with the introduction of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, indicating compound-I formation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed for later catalytic steps to rationalize the experimental Raman/SERS spectra. The presented data provide several possibilities for tracking single biomolecules in situ during a chemical reaction and further developing plasmon-enhanced biocatalysis.