The light quantum mechanism of PCR efficiency oscillation with gold nanoparticle concentration

The widespread application of nanomaterials in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology has opened new avenues for improving detection methods in the biomedical field. Recent experiments (Chem. Eur. J. 2023, e202203513) have revealed oscillatory behavior between PCR efficiency and the concentration of gold nanoparticles in the pM range, potentially linked to the long-range Coulomb interactions among charged colloidal particles and the quantum size effect of nanoparticle electronic states. Through Monte Carlo simulation, we discovered that the radial distribution function of gold nanoparticles in solution gradually exhibits peak characteristics with increasing charge, triggering coherent photon behavior in Rayleigh scattering within the solution, thereby influencing the efficiency of reusing released photons in the PCR chain reaction. The study demonstrates that the oscillation period aligns with the wavelength of downstream reaction photons, while their energy matches the width of energy levels near the Fermi level of gold nanoparticles. The latter can absorb and store electron states internally, promoting upstream PCR reactions through subsequent re-release, and compensating for energy deficiencies through the Boltzmann distribution of electrons. This work is poised to advance the application of PCR-specific precise detection methods in the field of quantum biotechnology.