Biological Function of G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids and Potential Application in Medicinal Chemistry.

G-Quadruplexes are special secondary structures adopted in some guanine-rich DNA sequences. The highly prevalent putative existence of G-quadruplex and the influence on genomic stability, telomere maintenance and gene expression indicate that G-quadruplexes may play important roles in biological processes [1]. Many research findings have provided substantive evidence for potential applications of G-quadruplex nucleic acids as promising anticancer targets [2-5]. In this volume of Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry (CTMC), we summarized recent research articles with special focus on the research progress for the biological function of G-quadruplex nucleic acids and potential application in medicinal chemistry, which covers several aspects of content including telomere G-quadruplex as target, RNA G-quadruplex as target, G-quadruplex small molecular probes for cellular imaging, G-quadruplex interactive proteins, and G-quadruplex as tool for biological target detection and drug delivery. In particular, this issue highlights the research fields that are rapidly growing on G-quadruplex in recent years, where six review articles were selected dealing with many different themes and illustrations that contribute to understanding the research status of the biological function of G-quadruplex nucleic acids and potential application in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences.