Study on the interaction of colloidal gold with Taq DNA polymerase

The interaction of colloidal gold with Taq DNA polymerase (Taq) was investigated in this study. Taq-gold conjugate was formed by adding the enzyme to the colloidal gold solution, as evidenced by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photon cross correlation spectroscopy measurements. The conjugate was further characterized by transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the Taq-gold conjugate particles were still spherical and well-dispersed. The influence of gold nanoparticles on the bioactivity of Taq was studied by analyzing the yield of the polymerase chain reaction amplification. Results indicated that the enzymatic activity of Taq decreased after interaction with the colloidal gold.