Interaction between the fluorinated amphiphilic copolymer poly(2,2,3,4,4,4‐hexafluorobutyl methacrylate)‐<i>graft</i>‐poly(SPEG) and DNA

Abstract A synthesized copolymer, synthesized from HFMA (hexaflurobutyl methacrylate) and SPEG (PHFMA‐ g ‐PSPEG), was synthesized. PHFMA‐ g ‐PSPEG intercalated to the DNA base pair via a strong hydrophobic force, and this was conformed by ultraviolet spectroscopy, transmittance measurements, micropolarity measurements, resonance light scattering (RLS) spectroscopy, and particle size measurements. The copolymer was used as a new probe to detect DNA according to the RLS technique. The hydrophobic interaction between PHFMA‐ g ‐PSPEG and DNA significantly enhanced the RLS signal, and the enhanced RLS intensity at 422 nm was proportional to the nucleic acid concentration within the range of 0.09–0.90 mg/L with a detection limit (3σ) of 4.0 μg/L. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010