Precise rupture of DNA under ultrasound

It has long been known that ultrasound with sufficient energy density can damage or even rupture DNA into smaller fragments. In collaboration with the experimental group of Professor Andreas Herrmann from Aachen, we redirected the previously unspecific fragmentation of DNA to dedicated weak points determined by partially cleaved DNA phosphate backbones, known as nicks.

The mechanism of this novel DNA fragmentation through ultrasound was investigated and resolved through the analysis of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data and molecular dynamics simulations conducted by our group. The results were recently published in the journal Chem (DOI).