Mimicking the inflammatory cell adhesion cascade by nucleic acid aptamer programmed cell‐cell interactions

Metal/Nucleic-Acid Interactions

Protein–nucleic acid interactions

Nucleic-Acid-Binding Chromophores as Efficient Indicators of Aptamer-Target Interactions

The binding affinity and specificity of nucleic acid aptamers have made them valuable candidates for use as sensors in diagnostic applications. In particular, chromophore-functionalized aptamers offer a relatively simple format for detection and quantification of target molecules. We describe the use of nucleic-acid-staining reagents as an effective tool for detecting and signaling aptamer-targ...

Structural transformation induced by locked nucleic acid or 2′–O-methyl nucleic acid site-specific modifications on thrombin binding aptamer

BACKGROUND Locked nucleic acid (LNA) and 2'-O-methyl nucleic acid (OMeNA) are two of the most extensively studied nucleotide derivatives in the last decades. However, how they affect DNA quadruplex structures remains largely unknown. To explore their possible biological affinities for quadruplexes, we investigated how LNA- or OMeNA-substitutions affect G-quadruplex structure formation using a t...

Understanding nucleic acid-ion interactions.

Ions surround nucleic acids in what is referred to as an ion atmosphere. As a result, the folding and dynamics of RNA and DNA and their complexes with proteins and with each other cannot be understood without a reasonably sophisticated appreciation of these ions' electrostatic interactions. However, the underlying behavior of the ion atmosphere follows physical rules that are distinct from the ...